Wardens Reborn
by scholasticsamurai
Summary: Somehow Duncan managed to gather eight promising recruits for the wardens. They all have different backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses. But can they work together? And how will they get along with the allies they gather? Personal struggles, political strife, and of course the Blight are all looming on the horizon.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Harrowing

Daylen Amell laid awake in his bunk reading one night as was typical for the young mage. His fellow apprentices had dozed off long ago and so he alone remained awake in their dormitory, his left hand containing a small ball of flames that gave him just enough light to read his book without disturbing his fellows. He often stayed up late to review spells, history or the occasional work of fiction.

He was known as one of the most gifted among the apprentices and one of First Enchanter Irving's star pupils. The other being one of his best friends, Neria Surana. Neria was asleep a few bunks away. She'd sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and scold him for still being up reading, but only out of concern. They had both arrived at the tower as children less than a month apart and had become fast friends. He glanced over at her sleeping form and chuckled quietly to himself. It always amazed him how the young elven girl could be so neat and tidy when she was awake, but while sleeping she was worse than a rampaging mabari. Her bunk was a complete tangle of limbs, blankets and sheets strewn in every direction.

He grinned while turning a page when he suddenly heard footsteps. He quickly extinguished his ball of flame, shut his book and pretended to sleep. The footsteps got closer and very soon the authoritative whisper of a senior enchanter was addressing him. "Daylen, wake up it's time," the voice said. This could mean only one thing, the time for his test, the Harrowing had finally come. Passing it was the only way to become a mage of the circle, failure would mean death and the alternative to taking the Harrowing, The Right of Tranquility, was the equivalent in his mind.

As he stood he took one final glance over at Neria before announcing "It's about time, let's get this over with."

The old man that had come for him merely grinned and said "As confident as ever, but I know you have the skills to back it up at least. Let's get going then." The older mage led him through the tower and up the stairs all the way to the top of the tower into the Harrowing chamber where Knight Commander Gregoir, First Enchanter Irving, and a small group of templars awaited.

Daylen cautiously made his way towards the center of the chamber where Irving stood. "The day has finally come child," Irving said.

"Your magic is a gift as well as a curse," Gregoir stated in his usual gruff voice. "The demons of the fade are drawn to you and for that reason you must always be on your guard," he finished.

"The Harrowing is a secret out of necessity child, a challenge we must all face. But I know you will succeed just as we all have." Irving gave him a determined look as he stared at him.

"I understand First Enchanter and I have no intention of failing," Daylen said as he shot a glare at Gregoir.

"If you DO fail apprentice, know that my templars and I will do our duty. You will die." Gregoir almost seemed solemn as he finished his statement.

"Remember the fade is the realm of dreams, the spirits may control it but your own will is real." Irving advised.

"The apprentice must take this test alone First Enchanter. You are ready." As Gregoir finished speaking, Irving pointed at the glowing substance in the center of the chamber. Daylen understood and made his way to the lyrium. He took one final breath before touching the arcane substance and entering the fade to hopefully conquer his final challenge in becoming a full-fledged mage of the circle.

Neria awoke to the whispers of an old man who'd been calling her for several minutes now. As she stirred from her sleep and looked up she recognized the elderly mage as one of the senior enchanters although his name eluded her at the moment. "Honestly, it's about time you woke up. We have to get going, it's time." After a few moments she realized what he meant. It was time for the Harrowing.

"It's finally time," she whispered to herself. "Alright I can do this, I'm ready," she said as she got up and started to follow the elder mage.

"That's the spirit young lady, just remember what you've been taught and stay focused." Before leaving the dormitory Neria noticed Daylen's empty bunk and realized he must have been summoned before her. She was a little worried, Daylen was more powerful and knowledgeable than most but the possibility of failure always hung in the air. Apprentices who failed never returned. She gave a quiet shudder and tried focusing on her own task.

They made their way to the top of the tower and into the Harrowing chamber where she noticed Daylen being carried off by a few templars. "Daylen, NO!" she cried. The First Enchanter intervened almost immediately. He knew how close his apprentices were, they were practically siblings. It had been that way ever since they were children.

"Calm yourself child. Daylen is fine, the templars are simply returning him to his bed." Neria sighed her relief almost immediately. Irving would never lie to her and Daylen was his most talented protégé. He'd be just as upset as her if anything had gone wrong.

"So he passed then?" She met Irving's eyes as she posed the question.

"In record time actually," Irving chuckled. Neria grinned and muttered to herself "Show off."

Gregoir loudly cleared his throat as if he were announcing his presence to the room at large. "Shall we continue," he said in a rather annoyed tone.

"Of course Gregoir," Irving said in an exhausted sort way. "Alright child this is the final hurdle every mage must face before joining the circle. You are more than ready, just remember your will is your own. The spirits can't control that."

Irving cleared his throat once more and said "Should you fail apprentice, we will do our duty." Neria of course knew what that meant, she would die. As Gregoir finished she noticed a young templar in the rear of the chamber looking at her anxiously.

"So Cullen's here," she thought to herself.

Cullen was a young templar she'd met on a few occasions who always seemed to get a little flustered around her. Daylen often teased her about it, claiming he had a crush on her. Whether or not he was right she'd never given him much thought. He seemed nice enough and was always polite but Neria considered him an amiable acquaintance at best and intended to keep it that way.

Irving directed her towards the lyrium crystals in the center of the chamber. She understood and made her way over. She imagined how confident Daylen must have been before he entered the fade and grinned a little before touching the crystals and facing the challenge herself.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Circle

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Circle

"Are you alright? Please say something." The voice echoed in Daylen's head for about a minute before he finally awoke. He opened his eyes and saw his friend Jowan standing over his bunk back in the tower dormitories. He still felt somewhat groggy after the events of the previous night and was a little hesitant to sit up. He took a few seconds to yawn before greeting his friend.

"Morning Jowan. Wanna grab some breakfast?" Jowan looked at him almost incredulously.

"Breakfast!? You just had your Harrowing didn't you? Maker, when they brought you back in last night, I wasn't sure you'd ever wake." Jowan appeared a little panicked by this recollection so Daylen decided he'd better calm him down.

"Jowan, I'm fine. I passed the test and everything's okay, really." Jowan looked at his friend for a moment before relaxing a bit and laughing.

"I don't know why I was worried. You and Neria are the best after all. She does seem a bit more exhausted than you though." Jowan then glanced in the direction of Neria's bunk. Daylen looked over and suddenly realized that Neria must have been summoned during the a night as well. It wasn't really a surprise to Daylen. Neria after all was one of the most gifted apprentices in the tower. He was not only relieved to hear she'd taken the Harrowing but also to find that she was okay. After his own experience in the fade, he couldn't help but wonder how some mages succeeded. Although he was also wondering whether his experience was typical.

"So what was it like?" Jowan eyed him eagerly, but Daylen had expected this. As much as he wanted to tell Jowan about his experiences with the demons, he knew he couldn't.

"Jowan, you know I can't tell you. So please don't ask me again." The finality in his voice made it clear that the discussion was over.

"So much for friendship then," Jowan said a little disappointed. "Now you and Neria get to move to the cushy mage's quarters while I'm still stuck down here. I don't know when they'll call me for my Harrowing." Jowan sounded a little disappointed as he spoke and started to stare off into space a little.

"No one knows when they'll be summoned. That's part of the challenge I guess." Daylen had finally decided to sit up and began scratching his chin. His stubble was getting a little more rough than he would have liked.

"Sometimes I think they don't want to give me my Harrowing. I mean, I've been here longer than both you and Neria." Jowan was still staring off into some space that only he could see.

"Your turn will come Jowan, try not to obsess over it." Daylen knew his words would seem hollow, after all he'd just passed the test that every apprentice fears for most of their lives. The test that determined whether a mage would get to continue living or not. Jowan had every right to be nervous.

"The tranquil never take the Harrowing." Jowan's eyes were now focused again and looking at his friend. "You take the Harrowing, you become tranquil or you die." Daylen looked his friend in the eyes and considered what he was implying.

"Jowan, you have to volunteer to become tranquil unless you're found guilty of something...really bad" Daylen shuddered to think of what became of those who were made tranquil. Emotionless, obedient, husks. He immediately thought of Owain who managed the stockroom and how he always seemed so empty. Owain had told him once that he'd volunteered to take the Right of Tranquility out of fear of the Harrowing. He apparently found his 'condition' agreeable. Owain wasn't alone in his decision. There were always a few mages who chose the certainty of a life with no emotions over the possibility of a failed Harrowing and death.

"You're right...Anyway I was supposed tell you and Neria to see Irving when you both woke up." Jowan looked over at Neria who was still fast asleep. "I don't suppose you could..." Daylen nodded and reassured his friend.

"I'll get Neria don't worry." Jowan sighed in relief and made his way to the door of the dormitory.

"We'll talk more later," he said as he left. Daylen grew a little worried about where their discussion had gone. He'd have to think more about it later, right now he had a bigger problem. Neria was famous in the tower for two reasons: she was an exceptionally gifted mage and a terrible sleeper. Not only did she flail about in her sleep like a deranged spider but she was also nearly impossibe to wake. She could also be quite 'unpleasant' or terrifying depending on who you asked, when she was awoken. Daylen however, had adapted several methods over the years to get her up and moving when necessary.

He casually made his way over to Neria's bunk, but not before flirting with a couple of cute apprentice girls who'd heard about his record performance on the Harrowing. After promising to meet them both later for some 'tutoring' Daylen kneeled down beside his friend and noticed her feet dangling over the side of her bed. He quickly gathered a ball of frost in his right hand and allowed a blast of cold air to graze her feet. The effect was immediate and Neria screamed awake uttering all manner of curses. "So unladylike madam," Daylen laughed as Neria angrily fixed her eyes on him. The rest of the dormitory had responded in laughter too, until they caught a glimpse of her glaring at them. Everyone else was now convinced that nothing amusing at all had transpired and that they should get back to whatever it was they were doing. "Rise and shine sleepy head. Irving wants to see us and by the way congratulations." Daylen was still grinning at her.

Neria was still fuming several minutes later as they were making their way up the tower stairs. "Why are you such a-"

"suave, sophisticated, seductive, charming master of the arcane arts," Daylen finished for her as he laughed.

"Honestly all those girls chasing after you has clearly given you a false self image," Neria said mockingly. Secretly though, his confidence and humor had always reassured her. He was like the big brother she always wanted who also knew just the right way to aggravate her.

As they continued up the stairs, Neria couldn't help but ask him about his Harrowing. "To be honest it was a bit odd, or at least I think it was." Daylen went on to tell her about the creature called Mouse who'd attempted to ingratiate himself towards Daylen, his confrontations with the spirit of valor, the sloth demon, the rage demon and finally how he exposed mouse as a pride demon in disguise.

Neria seemed shocked. "So you had to engage three demons and a spirit!?" she gasped.

"Well it's not like I actually had to fight them all. Valor wanted to test my mettle, sloth was too lazy to actually try and kill me plus his riddles were a breeze. That rage demon would have been a pushover even without Mouse's help and I never trusted Mouse to begin with." Only Daylen could be so matter of fact about such a dangerous scenario.

"I guess it all makes sense. The more powerful the mage, the more dangers they face." Neria said as they reached the second floor.

"Speaking of which, how'd your little engagement go?" Daylen was now facing her with a curious look on his face. She explained how she had to face a rage demon as well, how after she defeated it something still felt wrong and how she exposed a desire demon who was attempting to prey on her desire to pass the test.

"So was she hot?" Daylen was still looking at her with that stupid grin on his face.

"She was a demon who was trying to possess my body," she fumed.

"Yeah I get that, but how was her body exactly?" Daylen still smirking was clearly trying to annoy her.

"So you've got a thing for demons now do you?" Neria was now staring daggers at him.

"Easy mom, I was just kidding around." Daylen still had a stupid grin on his face as they headed towards the library.

"Seriously though, you did really well. Desire demons are almost at the top of the demon food chain and they're experts at manipulating people through their desires. I'm really proud of you." Daylen's words made Neria really happy. As goofy as he could be, she respected his opinion.

As they entered the library Neria caught sight of a friend of hers sitting alone reading. "Hang on a second, I want to say hi to Eadric." Neria rushed off to greet the elf who was eager to speak with her. Daylen would have accompanied her, but Eadric always seemed slightly chilly in his demeanor to those who weren't elves. He was always polite and perfectly civil, but he clearly preferred to avoid pleasantries with humans.

Daylen noticed a mage he recognized as his friend Niall standing in a corner of the library speaking with Senior Enchanter Torrin so he decided to head over and greet them. As he made his way closer he could hear them discussing circle politics, mainly how the libertarians were apparently stirring up trouble.

"Good morning Niall, Senior Enchanter Torrin," Daylen greeted as he walked over.

"Ah, Daylen congratulations on your Harrowing." Torrin was clearly eager to change the subject. "I heard you set a new record," Niall grinned as he greeted his friend.

"Yeah well I had no intention of failing. Death and tranquility are one in the same to me." Daylen was now leaning against a bookshelf as he spoke.

"That's life in the circle for you, sometimes I wonder if apostates have the right idea," Niall mused. Apostates were mages who lived outside of the circle and were relentlessly hunted by the chantry and templars.

"Are there actually mages who actually manage to live outside the chantry's control," Daylen wondered out loud.

"Well I've heard of Chasind hedge witches that somehow manage it. There's also the rumors about Dalish elves having mages, but who knows what's true when it comes to the Dalish." Niall seemed to be contemplating.

"I'd suggest you both keep musings like these to yourselves and far away from any chantry ears," Torrin said in an authoritative voice.

Neria had suddenly reappeared and greeted the others. "Neria my dear, I was overjoyed to hear of your success with the Harrowing." Torrin was aglow as he spoke. Neria was quite popular with the instructors within the tower.

"Thank you Senior Enchanter Torrin," she said as she grabbed Daylen's arm and dragged him off. They both waved goodbye and headed towards Irving's office.

"What's the rush?" Daylen appeared mildly annoyed. "I don't want to keep Irving waiting and I really want to know what he wants to talk with us about," she said.

"He probably just wants to tell us about our new quarters and what a privilege it is to be part of the circle," Daylen responded in a bored sort of way.

They were passing the laboratory when Cullen offered a rather sheepish greeting. "Uh, g-good morning Neria," he stuttered before turning "Daylen."

"Good morning Cullen," Neria said. The shy templar was noticeably more cheerful upon receiving her greeting.

Daylen absolutely relished these moments. "How's it going Cullen, pretty good I'd wager seeing as how you didn't have to carve me or Neria up last night. _Especially_ Neria." After placing an emphasis on the last part Daylen received an elbow to the ribs from Neria.

"W-What, yes. I mean No! I mean I'm glad that you both passed!" It was pretty easy to get this guy flustered when Neria was involved. "To be honest last night was the first time I was involved in a Harrowing. I've never seen a demon possessed mage before, something must happen when an abomination is formed. Unless it's not obvious, I wonder if abominations are walking around right now."

Daylen released a rather loud laugh at this point. "Are all templars this pathetic?" Daylen mused. Neria elbowed him again.

"I'm sure there are no abominations around Cullen," she said soothingly.

"U-Um, of course. I was just thinking out loud, that's all. I'm sure Gregoir would have told me if something went wrong. Maybe someday I can be as dedicated as him." Cullen was now avoiding eye contact with Neria, clearly embarrassed.

"Well we have to get going now, goodbye Cullen." Neria had to practically drag Daylen away.

"Spineless and has terrible choice in role models," Daylen said as they continued down the corridor.

"You are so mean!" Neria glared at him angrily.

"Hey, it's not my fault if the templar handbook didn't describe what an abomination looks like. Especially considering it's one of the things they're supposed to be trained to fight." Daylen had a point, but as usual he had to be smug about it.

As they passed the chapel Neria suddenly stopped. "Something wrong?" Daylen then noticed a young mage by the name of Keili leaving the chapel. Daylen hated being around her. She was a mage who hated herself for being a mage. He had little tolerance for her constant self-deprecation. Neria was more understanding, but only just. Even she got annoyed by Keili's attitude after a while.

"Good morning Keili," Neria gestured.

"Good morning Neria and to you as well Daylen."

As Keili turned to him Daylen decided to be polite. "Good morning Keili, how's the day treating you so far?" A sad look suddenly appeared on her face. "Crap here we go again," Daylen thought to himself. Apparently a similar sentiment had crossed Neria's mind, Daylen was almost positive that she'd let a very brief and almost inaudible groan escape her mouth.

"The maker has seen fit to allow me to wake another day, but alas I find that I'm still cursed with magic." She'd actually gotten a little teary eyed.

Neria had given up long ago on convincing her to accept her gift but she'd hoped that she would at least be tolerable of the fact that she was a mage. "Keili, just...hang in there okay." It was all Neria could manage as she took Keili by the hand.

"Oh don't worry about me, I know that someday the maker will forgive humanity for its sins and purge us all of this retched curse." They said their goodbyes afterwards as Keili went to find her mentor.

"She'll never accept herself you know," Daylen said as they continued towards Irving's office.

"I know and that's why it's so sad," Neria responded somberly.

As they approached Irving's office they could hear arguing from within. "Wynne, Uldred and most of the senior enchanters have already gone to Ostagar. The circle has dedicated enough of our own to this war effort." Gregoir shouted.

"Your own? Since when have the templars felt such kinship with the mages? Or perhaps you're afraid of what will happen when the mages are free to use their maker given talents." Irving was facing a rather angry looking Gregoir.

"How dare you-"

"Gentlemen, please. Irving you seem to have guests." The voice that cut Gregoir off came from an unfamiliar man with a beard who was wearing armor.

"Ah, there you both are. Come in." Irving was now looking at both Daylen and Neria with those thoughtful eyes of his that were right now full of pride.

"Are they-"

"Yes these are the two I mentioned." Irving was still watching as they entered his office.

"Well Irving you seem to be busy right now, we'll continue this discussion later," Gregoir said as he headed for the door.

"Yes, I'm sure we will." Irving was now completely focused on his two pupils. "Now, I want you both to know how proud I am of you. You've conquered a challenge that some choose to avoid and others fail at completely. From this day forward you are both mages of the circle. I hereby present you with your new robes and staves." Daylen and Neria eagerly accepted their gifts while grinning at each other. Irving allowed them to slip their new robes on and examine their staves before clearing his throat.

"I'd also like to introduce you both to Duncan. Duncan is the leader of the Grey Wardens of Fereldan. Duncan these are my two finest pupils Daylen Amell and Neria Surana."

Both Daylen and Neria exchanged curious glances after greeting the older warrior. "Not to be rude, but why is a grey warden here?" Daylen was now looking at Duncan.

"There is a war brewing in the south and Duncan is recruiting mages to fight alongside the king's army."

Duncan then addressed them directly, "A horde of darkspawn have appeared in the Korcari Wilds. If we're lucky we'll be able to destroy them before they make any headway. The spells you mages wield are very useful when dealing with large groups of mindless enemies. I fear if we don't stop them now, we'll have a blight on our hands." Neria gave Daylen an apprehensive look as they considered what Duncan just said.

"Duncan, you'll worry the poor children with talks of darkspawn and blights. This is a happy day for them."

"We live in troubled times my friend."

Irving focused his attention back towards his pupils. "The rest of the day is yours, but before you go I'd like to ask that you both show Duncan to his room." Once again Daylen and Neria were exchanging curious glances but accepted Irving's request. After all when would they ever get the chance to speak with a grey warden leader again?


	3. Chapter 3: The Trouble with Jowan

Chapter 3: The Trouble with Jowan

As the two young mages escorted the grey warden down the hallway they each thought about all of the things they could ask the old warrior. The darkspawn threat notwithstanding, there were numerous topics they were both curious about. "So what's going on in Fereldan these days?" Daylen asked. Of course he'd be the one to break the ice.

"I imagine you don't get out much." Duncan said sympathetically. "I'm afraid I'm not the best source of information, the darkspawn threat has had me preoccupied."

Daylen considered this for a moment. "Can you tell us about the grey wardens then? I've read about them in books but it'd nice to get the full story from an actual grey warden leader. I mean as long as we're here and walking." Daylen looked at Duncan and smiled. Neria knew that smile. It was the same smile that allowed him talk his way out of trouble with the senior enchanters and into the skirts of many an apprentice.

Duncan looked at the young man for a moment before chuckling to himself. "Somehow I think you and Alistair would get along quite well." he mused.

"Who?" Daylen and Neria said in unison.

"Never mind. To answer your original question, the grey wardens are an order of warriors dedicated to eliminating the darkspawn. We are humans, dwarves, elves and mages all united with that common goal." There was a brief pause while Daylen imagined how impressive a coalition like that would be.

"How many of you are there?" Neria asked.

"Hm, well I couldn't tell you for certain. But there is a group of grey wardens in every nation. The Anderfels has the most though and it's also the home of Weisshaupt Fortress, the grey warden headquarters." Duncan then released a sigh before continuing. "Unfortunately Ferelden has the fewest number of wardens and that makes it more vulnerable."

There was a brief silence again. "You mentioned a blight before. What exactly _is_ a blight?" Daylen asked.

"Darkspawn usually stick to the deep roads fighting the dwarves. Occasional bands sometimes show up on the surface though. When hordes of darkspawn begin moving to the surface and attacking, it's usually a sign that a blight is going to occur. A blight is when an archdemon begins organizing and mobilizing the darkspawn into attacking the surface. Without out it, the darkspawn are disorganized and scattered." Duncan finished his explanation as they passed through an archway.

"So you think this horde forming in the Korcari Wilds may become a blight?" Neria asked.

"Indeed. I've been trying to gather as many forces as I can to aid in the fight. I was hoping to have far more mages at our disposal, but the circle only sent seven when they received the king's request. The darkspawn have their own mages and our resources must exceed their own." Duncan said seriously.

"Wait, darkspawn have mages?!" Neria blurted out, clearly shocked.

"Yes, we call them emissaries. They wield power that's just as destructive as your own and they usually act as commanders for the other dark spawn." Duncan said solemnly.

Daylen was beginning to understand why Duncan was so desperate to get a bigger commitment from the circle. A mere handful of those 'emissary' darkspawn could cause real problems for any army. "I'd like to join the king's army." Daylen suddenly said.

Neria looked at him in surprise but understood immediately after meeting his eyes. The possibility of a horde of darkspawn destroying villages and being led by whatever this archdemon was sounded terrible. Even worse if theses 'emissary' creatures were involved. Most people were already so wary of magic. Neria could only imagine how they'd feel if they lost their homes and loved ones to magic wielding darkspawn. "I want go too." she said.

Duncan looked at the two young mages for a while before giving a small smile. "Perhaps I shall speak to Irving about this." he said. As they reached Duncan's room Daylen still had a serious look on his face. "Thank you for the company my young friends." Duncan said.

"It was nice meeting you Duncan." Neria said cheerfully.

"I look forward to fighting at your side Duncan." Daylen said as he shook the warrior's hand.

As they made their way towards the library Neria noticed that Daylen seemed to be lost in thought. "You have no idea how weird it is to see you this serious." she said.

Daylen turned his head and grinned. "Well even I have my moments." he said as he stopped. "I remember reading about the blights, the destruction, the hopelessness. No one would be spared from that Neria. The way I see it, what good is having power if you can't use it to avert a catastrophe like the blight. This horde forming in the wilds, someone has to face it. If I can help somehow then I will and I don't give a damn what Gregoir or the chantry has to say about it."

Neria looked at him for a moment before smiling. "You know, you're much more reliable then you let on. You should try to show this side of yourself more often. I'm sure Petra would be impressed." she giggled.

"Huh?" Daylen stammered.

"Speaking of which I need to meet her in the library." Neria turned and headed down the hall, but not before turning to face Daylen once more. "And one more thing. I'd never let you fight alone so any battlefield you find yourself in, expect to have me right beside you making sure you don't do anything stupid." Once she was certain Daylen understood what she'd said she headed off once more.

Daylen couldn't help but smile to himself as he wandered the halls of the tower. He wasn't really sure what to do with himself so he decided to go to the laboratory. As he entered, he was warned by a nervous looking mage that Senior Enchanter Leorah was apparently in a bad mood. Leorah was an older elven mage who Daylen recalled was only recently promoted to senior enchanter. Undeterred, Daylen went over to greet her. "Hello Senior Enchanter Leorah." Daylen said.

"Oh, hello Daylen. Congratulations on your Harowing. Is there something you need?" She seemed nervous as she said the last part but Daylen chose to overlook it for now.

"Thanks and congratulations on your promotion. Senior Enchanter, you must be thrilled." he said.

"Yes, it's been great, really, more responsibilities, having to manage things, make sure nothing goes wrong..." she trailed off.

She was obviously bothered by something so Daylen decided to be direct. "Leorah, What's wrong? You've wanted to be a senior enchanter for as long as I can remember. Now here you are newly promoted and completely on edge. What's the deal?" Daylen asked.

Leorah looked at him for a moment before deciding to come clean. "Alright, the truth is there's a bit of a problem with the storerooms. They've been infested with giant spiders and I'm not sure what to do. I can't leave to deal with them myself and if anyone finds out about them they'll think I'm incompetent. I've only just been promoted, I couldn't handle the shame." Daylen decided to withhold his urge to question her competency and instead offer to help her with the problem. He had nothing else to do at the moment and obliterating spiders would be good exercise. Less than an hour later Daylen emerged from the storerooms having dealt with the spider infestation. Leorah was more than grateful and even rewarded him with a few poultices and salves. Daylen figured they might come in handy at some point. As he left the laboratory and entered the hallway he ran into Jowan.

"There you are. I've been searching the entire tower for you. Listen there's something we need to discuss." Jowan lowered his voice to almost a whisper.

"Jowan is everything alright?" Daylen asked.

"Do you remember what we were discussing earlier?" Jowan's voice was still barely audible.

Daylen could hardly forget his friend's fears about being made tranquil. "Of course I do, what's this all about Jowan?" He eyed friend seriously.

"Not here, just please follow me." Jowan pleaded. Daylen agreed and followed Jowan to the chantry chapel. When they arrived Jowan led him to an empty corner where a young initiate awaited.

"Okay Jowan, what's this all about? And are you sure you want to discuss it in front a priest?" Daylen asked.

"Initiate actually," the mystery woman corrected him.

"Do you remember when I mentioned meeting a girl a while back? Well this is Lily." Jowan said.

Daylen did indeed recall Jowan mentioning a secret girlfriend in the past. He'd always assumed that she was a product of his imagination. "Well it's nice to meet you Lily and know for certain that you're real and not another one of Jowan's pen pals." Daylen said as Jowan grew a little red. "But an initiate, this is pretty risky Jowan." Daylen said more seriously.

"I know that's why I didn't tell you. Lily and I have been meeting in secret. She's given herself to the chantry and isn't allowed to have relations with men." Jowan said a little sheepishly.

Daylen looked at them both for a moment before sighing. "Well I'm not going say anything. I'm just glad to see you having a proper relationship with an actual person." he finally said.

"I knew I could trust you! You're a true friend you know that!" Jowan was beaming at him.

"Yeah, yeah calm down. If that's all you wanted to tell me then I'd better get going." Daylen said as he turned to leave but before he could Jowan grabbed his hand.

"Wait, there's something else. The circle is planning to perform the Right of Tranquility on me." Daylen immediately stopped and turned to face his friend. "Explain," he said as he fixed Jowan and Lily with one of the most serious expressions he'd ever made.

Lily explained how she'd discovered the documents regarding Jowan's impending doom on Gregoir's desk. "But why?" Daylen queried.

"There's a rumor going around about me being a blood mage." Jowan said.

"Okay, I have to ask if there's any truth to that." Daylen responded.

"Of course not! I been sneaking off to meet Lily in secret, someone must have seen me and assumed the worst." Jowan said defensively.

"That's an awful big conclusion for someone to draw from just sneaking around Jowan." Daylen was now looking his friend in the eyes. He was hiding something else, Daylen could tell. He had always been good at reading people and picking up on deception. It wasn't a magical talent, but a gift for reading body language and paying attention to the details as they spoke. He wasn't sure if it was blood magic, but Jowan was definitely concealing something.

"Daylen you know me, we've been friends since we were children. That's why I came to you. I want you to help us escape. Please." Daylen could see the pleading in Jowan's eyes but he was also certain that there was something else going on. He took a minute to think things over before finally making his decision.

"Alright Jowan, I assume you and Lily have a plan." he said.

Lily filled him in on the details of how they planned to destroy Jowan's phylactery so that the templars wouldn't be able to track him. It involved breaking into the repository in the tower's basement and using a rod of fire to melt the locks on the door. Daylen agreed to get a rod of fire from Owain at the stockroom before departing.

As Daylen made his way towards the stockroom he ran into Neria. "Good news! I'm pretty sure Petra likes you, so all you have to do is...What's wrong?" she asked.

"Lots of things. Darkspawn hordes, a possible blight, Wynne's longwinded lectures on etiquette." Daylen said dismissively.

Neria continued to hound him all the way to the stockroom and even after Owain gave him a request form for the rod of fire. As they made their way back to the hallway Neria practically dragged him to a stop. "Daylen stop and tell me what's going on. Why are you so worked up and why do you need a rod of fire?" She had fixed him with a determined look that she only got when she was serious. He knew that it would be pointless to argue with her and he already had far too much on his mind and little time to sort through everything.

Daylen sighed, "Okay listen..." he began. He told her everything about Jowan and Lily, the right of annulment and his own suspicions that Jowan was hiding something else. Afterwards Neria just shook her head after a minute.

"Jowan is a lot of things. Hopeless, clumsy, and forgetful. But he's not a liar and definitely not a blood mage." she said.

"He may not be a blood mage, but he is hiding something. With the stakes being what they are you'd figure he'd come clean about everything. Especially considering what he's asking me to help with." Daylen responded.

"About that, I don't think you should get involved. If the templars found out...Daylen please just don't." Neria pleaded.

"I already promised I'd help them. But I have no intention of flying blind." he said before walking off.

Neria quickly caught up to him. "Wait up, where are you going?" she asked.

Daylen turned to her and without hesitation said "To see Irving."


	4. Chapter 4: Blood Magic and Betrayal

Chapter 4: Blood Magic and Betrayal

As Daylen and Neria entered Irving's office he looked up and smiled. "I trust you showed Duncan to his room without any difficulties." he said.

"What? Yeah, we spoke a little with him on the way." Daylen said, slightly put off by Irving's mention of the grey warden.

"Why did you ask us to escort him?" Neria asked.

"Duncan is a good man and I wanted you both to get acquainted with him. We can learn so much from the wardens."

Daylen thought about this for moment before quickly remembering why he'd come to see Irving. "I have something important to ask you and I need you to be straight with me." Daylen said seriously. "Is the circle planning to make Jowan tranquil?"

Irving looked his young apprentice in the eyes and responded in a hushed voice, "Yes."

Neria was shocked. "So it's actually true?!"

Irving stood from his desk and crossed his office to shut the door before returning to his pupils. "Gregoir has eyewitness testimony that claims Jowan has been dabbling in blood magic." The room fell silent.

"Gregoir's accusations aren't worth a damn to me. I want to know what your opinion is Irving. Is there any truth to this really or is the chantry tying your hands?" Daylen was now staring determinedly at his mentor.

"Both I'm afraid." the old man said. "I believe that Jowan has foolishly experimented with powers he cannot comprehend, however I don't believe him to be malicious or malevolent. I doubt he's actually delved as deeply into blood magic as Gregoir believes, but the chantry has no tolerance for such actions. Even misguided curiosity by the foolhardy."

The room fell silent once more. "He lied to my face and tried to use me. I wonder if his girlfriend is in on it." Daylen said before giving a wry sort of laugh. "A chantry initiate helping an amateur blood mage escape the circle. I can't help but laugh at the irony."

After hearing his remark Irving responded. "Escape? He means to flee? Ah, of course. I imagine she would have told him everything. They certainly dally about together enough." Irving said. Both Daylen and Neria turned to the old man with curious looks on their faces. "You think I didn't know? You don't get to become First Enchanter by being blind. So they plan to escape do they, tell me what else you know." Daylen explained how they planned to destroy Jowan's phylactery by breaking into the repository and how he'd promised to help.

"Well, now you definitely can't to go through with it." Neria said seriously. "Jowan's brought all of this on himself and I won't let him drag you into this mess too."

Irving seemed to be contemplating before he finally said, "No I think you should proceed with their plan."

Neria was stunned. "Why?"

Irving returned to his desk and sat down. "Whether Jowan breaks into the repository or not the right will still happen. But if the circle must lose one of its own so must the chantry." Irving said. Neria looked confused.

"He wants to give the chantry a black eye." Daylen responded. "If both Jowan and Lily are caught it'll be equally embarrassing for both parties. Being with him while leaving the scene of the crime would erase any doubts about her guilt. They wouldn't be able to write off any accusations against her as a lie or claim she was a pawn." Daylen said bitterly.

"Exactly," Irving said. "If you want to survive, you must learn the rules and realize that sometimes, sacrifices are necessary."

"I'll do it," Daylen said. "But I'll need you to sign this." He presented the request form for the rod of fire.

"Why do you need...Ah I see, trying to break in this way. This may prove to be a little troublesome." Irving said.

"What do you mean?" Daylen asked.

"The door to the repository is warded against magic, the rod will have no effect. But if you make your way through another door nearby you can make your way to an old storeroom that is connected to the repository. Inside is an old Tevinter artifact that amplifies the power of spells. Use the rod of fire on that artifact and you should be able to break down the wall that separates the two rooms." After explaining his plan Irving signed the form and handed it Daylen.

"I don't like this Daylen. If Jowan has been dabbling in blood magic and finds out you're onto him...I'm coming with you." Neria said anxiously.

"Absolutely not Neria! I know how risky this is, which is exactly why I'm doing it alone. Just wait for me in the dormitory, I'll be back soon enough. I promise."

Neria shook her head and gave him the most stern look she'd ever mustered. "I'M COMING WITH YOU," she said as though the discussion were over.

Irving finally interjected, "Neria's concern isn't without warrant Daylen. Once one has dabbled in blood magic the urge to delve deeper is always there. I think she should accompany you." Convinced that there was no point in arguing Daylen agreed.

Daylen and Neria made their way to the stockroom where Owain gave them the rod of fire after confirming Irving's signature. Afterwards they met with Jowan and Lily back in the chapel. "What's Neria doing here?" Jowan asked.

"When have we ever been able to keep a secret from Neria?" Daylen responded. Jowan couldn't help but laugh as he introduced Lily to Neria. After the introductions the group made their way to the basement where a large door awaited them. Lily explained that a password and spell were necessary to unlock it. She of course had the password and prepared the door before Daylen hit it with a minor spell. The door unlocked and they made their way to the repository door. Despite having prior knowledge that it wouldn't work, Daylen made a convincing show of trying to melt the locks with the rod of fire.

"Lily something's wrong, I can't cast any spells here." Jowan said.

"These wards prevent any magic from being cast upon them. Of course, how do you keep mages away from something? Make their powers completely useless! We're finished then!" Lily said desperately.

"What about that door down there?" Daylen asked right on cue.

"I don't know, do you think it leads to another part of the repository?" Lily asked.

"It's worth a try," Jowan said anxiously.

As the group opened the other door they were immediately ambushed by a nearby suit of armor that suddenly sprang to life. Daylen quickly froze it solid with a frost spell before shattering it with his staff. "I'll bet there are more of these further in." he said as they all examined the remnants of the armor.

"We'll just have to be careful." Neria responded.

Sure enough as they made their way further down the hall and up some stairs, three more suits of armor began running towards them. Daylen was ready for them as he hurled a fireball that collided with the suit of armor in the center and exploded destroying the other two that flanked it. The battles grew more frequent as they progressed further on with robe wearing spirits making an appearance. Their spells were proving to be a nuisance until Neria began paralyzing them with her glyph spells. After several more fights the group finally made their way to the storeroom Irving had mentioned. After exploring the room Jowan noticed a section of the wall that was weak in certain spots.

"This room must be connected to the phylactery chamber. If we can break through this wall somehow it should lead us inside." he said.

After looking around Daylen noticed the artifact that Irving had mentioned conveniently pointed in the direction of the wall they needed to destroy. "Jowan, help me move this bookcase away from the wall. I have an idea." After moving the bookcase Daylen touched the artifact with the rod of fire. An intense burst of energy was suddenly released and immediately destroyed the wall.

"It worked! We're inside!" Jowan exclaimed happily.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," Daylen responded as three more suits of armor sprang to life and began advancing toward them. One of them appeared to be much more formidable than the previous suits they'd battled. Daylen quickly immobilized the most dangerous suit with a crushing prison and followed up by freezing the other two with a cold spell. As all three suits dropped to the floor, Lily looked at Daylen in awe.

"The maker has truly blessed you it seems."

Jowan turned to her and responded, "He and Neria are famous among the apprentices. Actually, everyone in the tower knows about you two now that I think about it." With the danger dealt with, Jowan began scanning the room for his phylactery. After a minute or so of searching he finally found it. "Finally. To think such a tiny bottle is all that stands between me and freedom." Jowan said before shattering the phylactery on the floor.

"Let's go Jowan, I'm eager to leave this place." Lily said.

"Jowan, before we go is there anything else you want to tell me?" Daylen was looking directly at his friend now.

"N-no, why do you ask?"

Daylen merely shook his head. "No reason, let's leave this place. Let's go Neria." As the group left the phylactery chamber and made their way towards the entrance, Neria noticed the turmoil in Daylen's eyes. She knew that as angry as Daylen was with Jowan, condemning his friend to the right of tranquility would eat away at him. Especially given how Daylen felt about the right. She grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it as they reached the door leading back upstairs. Daylen returned the gesture and gave her a small smile of gratitude.

"We did it! I don't know how I can ever thank you-"

"So the initiate has betrayed us." The group turned to see knight commander Gregoir and Irving along with several templars advancing towards them. "She seems surprised but in full control of her actions. Not a thrall of the blood mage then. You were right Irving." Lily appeared terrified. "And you two, mages for less than a day and already flaunting the rules." Gregoir said as he glared at Daylen and Neria.

"They are here under my orders," Irving interjected.

"What?" Jowan turned to them.

"I gave you every chance to come clean Jowan and you didn't." Daylen said bitterly.

"Enough! I hereby sentence this blood mage to death. The initiate has spurned her vows and therefore I sentence her to be sent to Aeonar." Gregoir announced.

"The mages prison, no not there! Please!" Lily pleaded.

As the templars advanced toward her, Jowan drew a knife. "No! I won't let you touch her!" Jowan shouted before plunging the dagger into his hands and using the blood to attack everyone in front of him, rendering them all unconscious.

Both Neria and Lily were stunned. "Jowan you said you never..." Lily looked at him in horror.

"I admit I dabbled, I thought it would make me a better mage. But I'm going to give it up, all magic, I just want to be with you Lily." There was pleading in Jowan's eyes as he looked at Lily.

"Blood magic is evil Jowan, it corrupts people. I-I was going give up everything for you. Stay away from me blood mage, I don't know you." she said as she turned her back on him.

The pain her words caused was evident on his face as he turned to face Daylen and Neria. "So you were acting as Irving's agents all along, playing me for the fool." he said as gave them a cold stare.

"How dare you-" before Neria could finish Daylen placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head before addressing Jowan.

"A lie for a lie right Jowan. How long have you been practicing?" Daylen stared at his old friend coldly.

"I don't expect either of you to understand! I needed the power to escape this place, to be with Lily! You have power and talent! Don't you dare judge me!" he shouted.

Daylen gave his old friend one final look of contempt before pointing to the hall leading to the tower exit. "Run away Jowan and don't ever stop." he said before turning his back on him. Jowan gave one final anguished look towards Lily before finally fleeing.

Moments later Daylen and Neria began tending to the injured templars and Irving. After a while they began to regain consciousness. "Gregoir are you alright?" Irving asked as he regained his senses.

"As well as can be expected given the situation!" Gregoir responded. "Had you allowed me to act sooner, we could have avoided this. Now there's a blood mage on the loose and we have no way to track him!" Gregoir stated as he got to his feet.

"I still can't believe he did that." Neria said as she helped Irving to his feet.

"None of us expected this Neria." Irving said as he regained his balance.

"You! Initiate! You helped a blood mage! Look at all he's hurt." Gregoir shouted as he caught sight of Lily.

"Knight commander, I was accomplice to a b-blood mage. I'll accept any punish you deem necessary, even Aeonar." she said sadly.

"Get her out of my sight." Gregoir ordered the templars and they quickly led her away. "And you two. You aided a blood mage in his escape, what do you have to say for yourselves?!" Gregoir demanded.

"We did what Irving asked of us and nothing more!" Neria said defiantly.

"As I said before, they were acting on my orders Gregoir." Irving said as he looked at the knight commander.

"And this improves the situation? You're not all knowing Irving, you don't know how much influence the blood mage may have had!" Gregoir shouted.

"Yeah, we're clearly mindless thralls. That's why we didn't run and remained behind to patch you and your pathetic templars up." Daylen said sarcastically. He'd had enough, between Jowan's betrayal and now having to stomach Gregoir's deranged accusations, he was at his limit. The young mage was now staring down Gregoir with a look of pure hatred.

"I sugggest you adjust that attitude of yours, I still haven't decided what to do with either of you." Gregoir said.

"Whatever you're planning leave Neria out of it. I dragged her into this, besides you know you'd rather punish me." Daylen said still glaring at Gregoir.

"Daylen, NO! We're in this together no matter what!" Neria shouted.

"He's just looking to take his frustrations about Jowan out on somebody Neria. It may as well be me." Daylen said, his eyes still fixed on the knight commander.

"Daylen enough. No one here is facing punishment." Irving said calmly.

"I wouldn't say that Irving. No, your little protégé has gone too far this time." He said as he continued to stare down Daylen.

"Gentleman, if I may interrupt." Duncan had suddenly appeared and all attention was now focused on him. "I'm not only here to gather support for the king's army. I'm also recruiting for the grey wardens and I'd like these two to join me." Daylen and Neria were stunned and Gregoir was furious.

"You've promised him warden recruits!" he shouted at Irving. Irving merely smiled as he looked at his pupils.

"Irving spoke highly of these two mages and their actions here today more than justify that praise. Being a grey warden requires a level of dedication that is paramount to anything else. Not only are you expected to dedicate your life to fighting darkspawn but also safeguarding your brothers in the order. I have no doubt that both of you would make superb recruits." Duncan was now looking at both Daylen and Neria.

"No! I won't allow it! They don't deserve a place in the order! Irving, you said they acted on your orders but I don't trust them. And I WON'T release them to the grey warden! Especially this one! He's been flaunting authority for years!" He shouted as he pointed at Daylen.

"Enough, Gregoir. Like it or not I'm conscripting these two. There are worse things in this world than blood magic, you know that. I hereby take these two mages under my wing and bear all responsibility for them."

After Daylen exchanged a curious glance with Neria he asked, "So we're going to be wardens then?"

"Yes Daylen, you're both luckier than most. You now have the opportunity to see and do what many only dream of." Irving said as he looked at his apprentices fondly.

"I'll miss everyone," Neria said sadly.

"Irving, thank you for everything. I'll try to make you proud. I promise." Daylen said as he faced his mentor.

"I have no doubt you will Daylen. I want you and Neria to take care of each other. Remember, the tower will always be home."

Duncan allowed Daylen and Neria to gather their belongings and say their goodbyes. Everyone was shocked to hear that they were leaving to join the wardens and there were more than a few tears shed. Later as they crossed Lake Calenhad with Duncan in a small boat manned by a local named Kester, they both took a final look back at the tower.

"It's going to be a little lonely I guess." Neria said.

"Being a grey warden is a rough life, we'll have to be ready." Daylen said. But anyway you still have me and I'm undeniably amazing." Daylen was grinning at her and she couldn't help but smile.

"I wonder if Jowan managed to escape the templars." Neria said after a while.

"If he did he'd better hope our paths never cross again." Daylen said bitterly. As they reached the shore Daylen turned to Duncan. "So are we heading straight to Ostagar?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Duncan responded. "Remember when I said that I was attempting to gather as many allies as I could to bolster the king's army? Well I have an old friend whose been preparing to send a sizable portion of his soldiers to help in the fight. We'll be heading to his castle to discuss the details. I'll also be keeping an eye out for more promising recruits."

Daylen turned to Neria, "Looks like we won't be lonely for much longer." he said with a smile. "So Duncan who is this old friend of yours, an arl or a bann we should know of?" Daylen asked.

"Bryce Cousland, the teyrn of Highever." Duncan remarked. After hearing the name Daylen stopped for a moment as he got lost in nostalgia.

Neria noticed, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Daylen said quickly. "I just never expected to see castle Highever again. I wonder if they'll remember me." Before Neria could question him further he had already sped ahead of her. "Well this will be interesting." he thought to himself as he walked along side Duncan. "After all it's been over ten years."


	5. Chapter 5: Hospitality in Highever

Chapter 5: Hospitality in Highever

"Come on tell me, pretty please?" Neria pleaded as she and Daylen began setting up their tents for the evening. She'd been persistently trying to get him to discuss his past with Highever ever since he'd mentioned being there before. Duncan was now tending to the campfire as she continued her needling.

"It's really no big deal Neria, hardly worth mentioning in fact." Daylen said casually.

"But you did mention it and I really want to know!" she pouted.

The truth was he was having way too much fun tormenting her by remaining silent. "You're acting like a child you know, hardly becoming of a warden." he said as he looked at her with a grin on his face.

"You can't just mention something that big and not elaborate. Oh, just tell me already!" Neria demanded.

Suddenly, Duncan cleared his throat. "I'm curious to hear the details myself actually." he said as he stared at them across the fire.

"Ha! Now you have to tell us, Duncan is our leader after all." Neria said victoriously.

Daylen sighed after a moment. "Well it was fun while it lasted," he thought to himself. "Do you remember me telling you how my family were nobles in the Free Marches?" Daylen asked.

"Yeah, in Kirkwall right?" Neria responded.

"Well we were often guests of the teyrn during the summers. When I was younger I'd often play with his youngest children whenever we visited. They were twins, Aedan and Elissa. Those were some of the best days of my youth." Daylen said happily.

"So what happened?" Neria asked.

"Being a mage happened," Daylen said casually. "Magic happens to run in the Amell family and it's not something they're proud of. All of my siblings were born with magic and shipped off to different circles before I was born. I was my mother's last hope to salvage the family legacy, but when I started showing signs I was disowned as well. The templars came in a matter of days and without a second glance my parents handed me off. Not long after that I was brought to the circle in Ferelden. I guess I should consider myself lucky, rumor has it that Kirkwall's circle is unpleasant to say the least. So between that and our cousin running off and marrying an apostate, the noble Amell family fell from grace among Kirkwall's elite." Daylen said after finishing his story.

Neria was shocked. "You never mentioned any of this," she said as she lowered her head. "I'm so sorry Daylen, I shouldn't have pried."

Daylen merely shook his head. "Neria it's not a big deal, really. My only regret is that I never got to say goodbye to the twins. They were the only friends I had, before coming to the circle anyway." Daylen was now poking the embers in the fire.

"Well maybe they will remember you. I mean you do tend to leave an impression Daylen." Neria grinned at him.

After a few minutes Duncan stood to take watch. "You should both get some rest now, we'll arrive at Highever castle tomorrow. By the way Daylen, You DO tend to leave an impression." Duncan said as he turned back towards the fire.

"You hear that Neria, Duncan thinks I'm incredible too." he smiled as Neria shook her head. Duncan groaned as he left the fire.

The castle servants were abuzz with gossip as more guards made their way to the courtyard. As several of the guards began whispering and exchanging coins while observing the frantic scene that was playing out before them, the sound of blades clashing grew louder and more frequent. In the center of the courtyard the teyrn's two youngest children were engaged in what seemed to be an epic battle. But for them it was nothing more than their usual sparring. On the left a beautiful young women with shoulder length, light brown hair and hazel eyes awaited her brother's next move. She was dressed in chainmail and wielding a pair of rather exquisite steel swords. To the right her equally handsome brother was preparing to make his next strike. He smiled as he faced his sister, the early morning sun highlighting his features. He shared the same hair and eyes as his younger twin and donned a close cut goatee. He was dressed in splintmail and wielding a steel shield and sword that were just as impressive as his sister's.

"Ready to give up Aedan? There's no shame in losing to your sister you know." the young woman taunted.

"You're all talk as usual Elissa. I mean _baby sister_." He knew that would get under her skin, he was only a few minutes older than she was after all. Sure enough, Elissa quickly switched to an offensive stance and sped towards him. He parried her first strike with his shield and countered with an attack with his own sword. Unfortunately for him his sister was faster and had managed to block the strike with her other sword. After a few seconds they separated and were poised to clash once more when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Forgive my intrusion milord and milady, but the teyrn has requested your presence in the guest hall." Ser Gilmore, one of the castle knights, had arrived.

"Figures, I guess we'll have to settle this another time brother dear." Elissa said as she sheathed her blades.

"Don't look so disappointed Elissa, you shouldn't be in such a hurry to have me best you. Especially in front of a crowd." Aedan responded in a cocky sort of way as he sheathed his own sword. The twins both laughed as they began making their way towards the hall.

"What do you think father wants?" Elissa asked.

"It probably has something to do with Fergus taking the men south to help deal with this darkspawn mess." Aedan responded. "And here's our big brother right on cue." he said as they caught sight of Fergus Cousland saying his goodbyes to his wife and son.

"The least you could do is say goodbye to us too, after all we're the ones who're getting left behind while you go off to fight darkspawn with the king." Elissa chided as they approached.

"I was just on my way to find you two," Fergus said. "Father's waiting for the two of you with Arl Howe." Fergus said. The twins both groaned at the mention of Howe.

"Exchanging pleasantries with that man is nauseating." Elissa complained.

"Hey, I'm the one he's always trying set up with his daughter." Aedan said. "I mean could he be any more transparent?" Aedan added.

"Howe is one of father's oldest friends, so try to keep those thoughts to yourself, okay?" Fergus then picked up his son, "Alright Oren be a good boy for your mother and try not to let your uncle and aunt get you into too much trouble." he said with a smile.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Elissa said.

"Aunty Elissa and uncle Aedan are fun though!" Oren said happily.

"Don't worry Fergus we'll be good kids and stay out of trouble while you're off battling alongside the king." Aedan sighed. "Well at least I'll get to enjoy Oriana's tea while we're being bored out of our minds." Aedan added.

"You mean when you aren't seducing any of our lovely guests or servants." Fergus laughed.

"Your brother is a troublesome one that's for sure." Oriana said as she looked at Aedan with a slight look of disapproval. "Maker help you if Oren grows up picking up your bad habits." she said in an annoyed tone.

"I'll make sure he's on his best behavior." Elissa cut in. "When you aren't demoralizing the knights and castle guards by besting them in your little 'practice bouts' you mean." Fergus added. They all laughed at this point.

"Have I missed the joke?" Teyrna Eleanor Cousland walked up as the laughter died down.

"I was just telling these two to stay out of trouble mother and reminding them about their little quirks." Fergus said.

"Maker, don't remind me. You two and your antics." she sighed before turning to Fergus. "Be safe dear, darkspawn aren't to be trifled with." Afterwards she hugged him and then took in the sight of her children and grandson appreciatively. "The maker has certainly blessed your father and I well." she said. "Now you two, get going. Your father is waiting." she said after turning to the twins.

Aedan and Elissa said their goodbyes to Fergus before making their way to the entrance hall. As they entered their father, Teyrn Bryce Cousland, greeted them. "There's my pup and princess," he said as they entered. "You both remember Arle Howe." he said as he turned to Howe.

"Hello Arle Howe." Aedan greeted him as politely as possible.

"It's good to see you again." Elissa added rather convincingly.

"I see your son has grown into a fine young man and your daughter is as beautiful as ever." Howe remarked. T

he twins exchanged a quick glance of mutual disgust before turning their attention to their father. "Father, why exactly did you want to see us?" Aedan asked.

"Since your brother is leading our forces south and I'll be leaving with the arle, I'm leaving you two in charge of the castle." the teyrn explained.

"So you're going to fight as well?" Elissa responded. "And Aedan and I are being left behind? Why?" she asked.

"I have no intention of sending all my children off to battle. You and your brother will remain here and that's final princess." the teyrn said sternly as he looked at his daughter. Elissa was prepared to argue but thought better of it and relented.

"We'll take care of things here father." Aedan said after seeing his sister back down. "That's my pup," the teyrn said affectionately before continuing, "I'll be leaving with the arl and his men when they arrive tonight."

The twins exchanged looks of disappointment with each other before their father made another announcement. "We also have a few guests who'll be staying with us." he said before motioning for the guard to let them in. An older man with a beard, dressed in armor entered the room accompanied by two youths dressed in robes and carrying staves. One of them was a rather handsome young man with dark hair, a slight stubble and piercing blue eyes. He had an air of confidence around him that was made more apparent when he casually leaned on his staff after entering the room. Elissa felt that there was something familiar about him. The other was a pretty young elven girl with long bright blond hair and green eyes. She was obviously nervous.

"This is Duncan, the leader of the grey wardens in Ferelden." their father exclaimed.

"You didn't mention having grey wardens as guests." Howe remarked nervously.

"Duncan arrived just this morning, is that a problem?" the teyrn asked.

"Not at all," Howe responded. "It's just that guests as important these require a certain protocol and I'm at a disadvantage." he said in a still very nervous manner.

"Duncan has been gathering forces to aid in the battle in the south. He's also been recruiting for the order. I think he's had his eye on Ser Gilmore." the teyrn finished.

"I believe your children would make excellent candidates as well milord. The entire castle has been talking about their sparring matches." Duncan said politely.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline that invitation. As I just told these two, I won't be sending every child I have to war. Unless you intend to invoke the right of conscription?" the teyrn said as he looked towards Duncan.

"Have no fear, while we need as many good recruits as possible, I've no intention of forcing the issue." Duncan responded.

"Good, and anyway I've noticed you've already secured two recruits." the teyrn motioned towards Daylen and Neria. "Ah, where are my manners?" Duncan said before introducing them, "These are the two finest pupils of the First Enchanter of the Ferelden Circle of Magi, Daylen Amell and Neria Surana."

Upon hearing this the twins exchanged one quick look between each other before shouting in unison, "Daylen!"

An hour later the four youths were wandering the castle as the twins began catching up with their childhood friend. "This place is exactly how I remember it." Daylen said as they strolled across the courtyard.

"I still can't believe you're here and a warden no less." Aedan responded.

"We aren't wardens just yet, until we get formally inducted we're still recruits." Daylen said as he glanced over at Elissa who was staring angrily at him. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"You've completely forgotten, haven't you?" she said in an annoyed tone of voice. "Twelve years ago you broke my favorite toy horse and do you know what you promised. You promised that the next time you came to visit you'd have something even better to replace it. Well?" She said as she looked at him.

Daylen looked at her for a moment before grinning. "Well I could give you a kiss until I find something better." As she turned red both Daylen and Aedan began laughing. Daylen was quickly elbowed in the usual spot by Neria.

"You should probably work on ignoring him. Otherwise you'll go crazy inside a day." she said as she looked at Elissa. Elissa grinned as they continued their walk.

Ser Gilmore had suddenly run up alongside the group. "Sorry to intrude but I'm afraid Dog's upsetting Nan again." he said.

"Hang on a minute." Aedan said as Ser Gilmore led him to the castle larder. A few minutes later he returned with a large and highly energetic mabari warhound following close behind.

"Dog, I want you meet some friends. This is Daylen and Neria." The hound barked as he greeted them.

"You named your mabari Dog?" Daylen asked.

"Don't get me started on this." Elissa said as she rolled her eyes.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant." Daylen said as he smiled and rubbed the hound's ears.

"Please don't encourage his stupidity." Elissa said before adding, "This is an embarrassment. Honestly he could've given him practically ANY other name. You know like an actual NAME!" Aedan was happily ignoring her while he and Daylen played with the hound. Elissa sighed, "I give up." She then made her way across the courtyard along with Neria where they sat on a bench.

"Twelve years apart and they don't miss a beat." Elissa said while watching her brother and Daylen with a small grin on her face. "When his family stopped visiting and we started to hear rumors, I didn't know what to think. It would've been nice to at least know he was okay." she said as she looked on at Daylen. It was obvious to Neria that she cared about him a great deal.

"Unfortunately that's how it is for everyone who gets sent to the circle. I know that he missed you both though. Before we came here he was actually worried you wouldn't remember him." Neria said. There was a moment of silence before Elissa spoke again.

"So, the two of you seem pretty close." Elissa said as she twirled a strand of her hair on her finger. Neria immediately understood Elissa's concerns.

"Daylen, don't you dare screw this up!" she thought to herself. "Daylen is like my big brother. It's been that way since we were children. Everyone in the tower understood that. But I guess out here our relationship could get misinterpreted. But we aren't lovers so you don't have to worry." Neria finished.

Elissa grew slightly red upon hearing the last part but quickly dismissed it, "I was just curious, that's all!" She had stopped fidgeting with her hair. After a while she turned to Neria, "Thank you Neria, for being there for him." Neria smiled and the two girls stood and made their way back to the center of the courtyard.

Daylen, Neria and the twins spent the rest of the day laughing, talking and playing with Dog. When evening finally arrived they were all relaxing in the courtyard staring up at the sky.

"I guess you'll both be leaving tomorrow." Aedan said quietly.

"Duncan will probably want to get moving at dawn. I'm not sure if we'll be heading directly to Ostagar or not but eventually we'll be in the thick of things too." Daylen responded.

"We should be going with you! I mean, we should be there fighting too! It's all because mother wants to keep us out of the battle! Elissa said angrily.

"Father wasn't eager to let us go either, Sis." Aedan responded in a regretful sort of way.

"Too bad, by the time your parents do let you go I'll have already put an end to the horde and saved the kingdom." Daylen said as he smiled.

"But what happens after you wake up?" Aedan said. After they'd all laughed enough they began heading their separate ways to bed. As Daylen headed towards his room, Elissa caught up with him and grabbed his hand.

"Don't die. And don't wait another decade." Afterwards she sped away down the hall as he looked after her.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on doing either." he thought to himself as entered his room for the night.


	6. Chapter 6: Treachery in the Night

Chapter 6: Treachery in the Night

Aedan was awoken suddenly by Dog's barks. As the mabari began growling viciously at the bedroom door, Aedan instinctively reached for his sword. Moments after grabbing the hilt, his door flew off the hinges and three armed soldiers burst into the room. Dog immediately pounced onto one of the intruders, quickly tearing into his throat. The other two made their way towards Aedan with their weapons drawn. As one of the assailants lunged with his sword, Aedan quickly sidestepped and spun around behind him. He quickly swung his sword severing the head of his attacker. As the other intruder was momentarily stunned by the deaths of his fellows, Aedan quickly closed in and sank his sword into his chest. Without thinking Aedan quickly grabbed his shield and began equipping his armor. "The castle must be under attack!" he thought to himself. "But who?" he said aloud. He then noticed the Howe family symbol on the shield of one of his would be killers. "Bastard!" he shouted. "Dog let's go, we have to get to the others!"

As Aedan made his way into the hallway he could hear the screams of the servants and the sounds of fighting all throughout the castle. As he made his way further he encountered more of Howe's soldiers. He and Dog made quick work of them but not before an archer at the end of the hall attempted to take advantage of the distraction. An arrow suddenly found its way into the archer's skull as Aedan turned to find his mother donning a set of leather armor and armed with a short bow. "Aedan! Thank the maker! I heard the fighting and feared the worst. Where's Elissa? Oh maker! We have to get to Oriana and the little one!" the teyrna was nearly frantic. Aedan nodded his agreement before they began fighting their way towards His older brother's room.

The scene that awaited them was horrific beyond words. In the center of the room lay Oriana still clutching little Oren. She had obviously tried to protect him to no avail. They were both covered in blood and wounds that were not only excessive but also barbaric. "Animals!" the teyrna cried before dropping to her knees and sobbing. Aedan looked at his dead sister in law and nephew as his rage threatened to overtake him.

"Howe will pay for this. I'll hunt him down myself!" He then turned to his mother.

"Mother we still have to find the others." As he helped her stand, she dried her eyes and tried to regain her composure.

"You're right dear, let's not waste anymore time." She was hurting, Aedan could tell. But they had to keep moving.

As they made their way to the entrance hall they discovered Ser Gilmore and several other castle knights battling the intruders. They quickly joined the fray. After defeating the attackers the teyrna asked, "Have you seen my husband or daughter?!"

"The teyrn headed towards the larder milady. He was badly injured but he was determined to find you all. I think he hoped to find you in the servant's entrance. I'm afraid I haven't seen the youngest." Ser Gilmore responded sadly. Just as he finished speaking they all noticed the barricaded entrance door begin to give way. "Both of you, run! We'll hold them for as long as we can!" Ser Gilmore shouted.

"Ser Gilmore...Give them hell!" Aedan said before he and the teyrna headed towards the courtyard.

"Wait a moment dear," the teyrna said as she grabbed Aedan. "There's something I need to give you before these bastards begin looting our home. It will help in the fights ahead and its rightful place is with you." The teyrna then led Aedan to the castle treasury and unlocked the door. She quickly opened a chest in the room and presented Aedan with the Cousland family sword and a shield bearing the family symbol. "Use these proudly Aedan." she said after he took them.

"Mother...I will, I promise." The teyrna hugged him and they headed back to the courtyard. Unfortunately more soldiers had shown up and they were surrounded.

Aedan readied his shield and eyed the intruders with all the contempt he had. His mother notched an arrow and followed suit while Dog growled menacingly. There were at least a dozen soldiers and Aedan knew they were in for a tough fight. Suddenly there was an explosion behind the enemy ranks and screaming. Several soldiers were set ablaze before collapsing dead. Before anyone could register what was going on, streams of lightning began tearing through the soldiers. Aedan could now make out the image of Daylen approaching the courtyard accompanied by Elissa. As Daylen continued to lay waste to the terrified soldiers, Elissa began carving up stragglers with her swords. Three of them actually had the audacity to try and surround her. She quickly cut them down in a vortex of slashes that quickly dissuaded any of their fellows from attempting the same. Aedan took advantage of the confusion and cut down several more of the soldiers himself. Before long the courtyard was clear once more.

"Elissa, thank the maker!" the teyrna said before embracing her daughter.

"Mother, I'm fine. I wasn't even halfway down the hall from my room before Daylen showed up hurling fire and lightning. Howe's soldiers didn't know what hit them." she said with a grin as she glanced over at Daylen. Aedan quickly shot his friend a look of gratefulness that only he could understand.

"Daylen, I can't begin to thank you enough." the teyrna said as she looked towards the young mage with tears in her eyes.

"No need teyrna, besides Elissa was doing pretty well on her own before I showed up. You're a real terror with those swords. Remind me never to piss you off." he said as he grinned at Elissa.

"Replace my horse and you'll have nothing to worry about." she said as she grinned back at him. After scanning the courtyard once more Elissa asked, "Have you already gotten Oriana and Oren to safety?" There was a dark silence that told her all she needed to know. "No...How could they? Oren was a child!" she said angrily as tears formed in her eyes. Daylen got a serious look on his face as he watched Elissa cry with her mother.

"So what's the plan?" Daylen finally broke the silence.

"Ser Gilmore said father headed to the larder, so that's where we're going." Aedan said.

"Alright, I'll make sure you three get there safely and then I'm going to find Neria and Duncan." Daylen responded.

"Daylen, Howe's soldiers are everywhere!" Elissa said desperately.

"Yeah and they'd best stay out of my way." Daylen said coolly.

"Daylen can handle himself Elissa, but we have to hurry before more of these bastards start pouring in." Aedan said before she could argue. As they made their way across the yard and into the hallway leading to the larder they encountered more of Howe's men. This time however, there was a mage accompanying them.

"Leave him to me," Daylen said calmly as he engaged the enemy spell caster. He quickly blasted the staff from his enemy's hands and followed up with a crushing prison spell. When the crumpled, lifeless form of the mage finally hit the ground Daylen had already frozen and shattered two of the enemy soldiers. Aedan had begun fighting the enemy commander. He parried an incoming sword slash and followed with a shield bash to the commander's skull. The enemy knight found himself knocked on his back with the last thing he saw being Aedan's sword piercing his throat. Elissa and dog tore through the remaining soldiers while the teyrna finished off an enemy archer.

When they all arrived at the servant's entrance in the larder, they found the teyrn badly wounded and unable to stand. "Father!" the twins cried in unison.

"Bryce! Maker, I wasn't sure we'd find you!" she shouted as she went to her husband. "We have to get you out of here!" She said as she cradled his head.

"I'm too far gone Eleanor." he said painfully. "I won't survive this I'm afraid."

Aedan looked to Daylen. "Can you heal him?" he asked desperately.

"I don't think so. Even if I were as good at healing as Neria, his wounds are too serious and he's lost too much blood. I'm sorry." Daylen said and his friends could see how much it hurt him to admit that he couldn't save their father.

"We're not leaving you Bryce, the passageway is right here!" the teyrna cried.

"Listen to me, the three of you must flee this place. Tell Fergus what's happened and alert the king. We don't have much time." the teyrn said weakly.

Suddenly they were alerted to the sound of more soldiers making their way towards them from the rear. They were quickly cut down by Duncan who appeared with Neria following close behind. She released several purple bolts of energy that killed the remaining soldier.

"Daylen, everyone, I was so worried!" she said as she hugged Daylen. She gasped when she noticed the teyrn's condition.

"Howe's men have the castle surrounded. They don't seem to know about this place yet but that will soon change. We must leave." Duncan said as he walked in.

"Duncan, please take my wife and children to safety. They must not perish here." the teyrn said as he looked towards Duncan.

"I will your lordship, but I must ask for something in return. The evil here pales in comparison to the blight and I need individuals with the strength and skill necessary to fight it." Daylen immediately understood what he was asking as he looked in the twins' direction. "I came here not only to bolster the king's forces, but to also find recruits. The darkspawn threat demands that I'm successful." Duncan said as he looked into the teyrn's eyes.

"I understand." the teyrn said as he looked at his children.

"I will take the teyrna and your children to Ostagar to inform the king and Fergus of what has transpired here. Afterwards, your children will become grey wardens. Will the two of you agree to these terms?" Duncan asked as he turned to the twins. Silence fell to the group.

"If it means I can get revenge on Howe, I'll agree." Aedan finally said.

"Me too." Elissa added, her eyes full of fire.

"Bryce are you sure about this?" the teyrna asked.

"Our children are NOT going to die here. They WILL live on and make their marks in the world. "The teyrn said with resolve permeating his every word.

"Alright. The both of you go with Duncan and the others, you'll have a better chance of escaping without me." the teyrna said.

"Mother, NO!" Elissa shouted.

"Mother we're leaving together!" Aedan said.

"Eleanor, you can-"

"Hush Bryce," the teyrna cut him off. "I'll kill every bastard that comes through that door to buy them time, but I'm not abandoning you." she said soothingly to her husband as she held him.

"We are NOT leaving the both of you!" Elissa shouted.

"My place is with your father in life and beyond dear. Now go." she said to her daughter with tears in her eyes. Daylen glanced at Neria and nodded. Neria responded by casting a sleep spell on Elissa before she could argue further. Daylen quickly caught her and picked her up as she fell asleep.

"Mother, Father, I'll avenge you. I swear it." Aedan said as he looked at his parents.

"You and your sister have made us so proud pup. Always remember that." the teyrn said as he looked back at his son.

"We love you both, take care of each other." the teyrna added before turning to Daylen. "You'll watch over them too, won't you dear?" Daylen took a look down at Elissa in his arms before raising his head to the Cousland elders.

"Always." he said before turning and heading towards the passageway. After taking one final look at his parents Aedan followed suit. Neria cast a repulsion glyph on the entrance to the larder before turning to the teyrn and teyrna.

"It's not permanent, but it should give you some protection." she said sadly.

"Thank you dear." the teyrna said gently. Neria then nodded and left, closely followed by Duncan.

Sometime after dawn the group found themselves walking along the imperial highway. Everyone was quiet and given the events they'd just survived no one was really sure how to break the silence. Fortunately and unfortunately they didn't have to.

Duncan had suddenly stopped and yelled, "Prepare yourselves!" Darkspawn started surrounding them. It was the first time any of them outside of Duncan had encountered the creatures. Neria quickly raised a glyph of warding on the group while Daylen enchanted everyone's weapons with fire. He then began hurling fireballs into the most concentrated groups. As the creatures scattered under Daylen's assault, the others cut down the stragglers. Before long, all of the creatures had fallen dead around them.

"What are they doing this far north Duncan?" Daylen immediately asked.

"I'm not sure. This concerns me, let us be off." Duncan said.

"Where are we going?" Aedan asked.

"The deep roads." Duncan responded as he began leading them towards the mountains.


	7. Chapter 7: Dust Town Beauty

Chapter 7: Dust Town Beauty

In a shabby house on a dirty corner of the castless section of the great dwarven city of Orzammar, a local crime lord named Beraht was having a meeting with two of his loveliest 'assets' regarding one of his many underhanded schemes.

"Look sweetheart, I can't keep gambling on you forever. You're more than pretty enough. Now it's just a matter of roping one those nobles. The sooner you seal the deal, the sooner we can all start living it up." Beraht said to the eldest of the two sisters.

"Beraht, do we have to do this in front of my sister?" the young woman responded. She was a rather pretty girl with light red hair wearing an expensive dress.

"Didn't I tell you not to talk to my sister like that?" the other woman responded. She was just as pretty as her sister with deep crimson locks and a set of amber eyes that were staring daggers at Beraht at the moment. Unlike her sister, she was sporting a set of leather armor and a pair of daggers that were for more than just show. Like all casteless, they also bore brands on their faces that identified them as such.

"You've told me a lot of things, all worth less than a fart in the wind." Beraht responded nonchalantly. "Before I showed up you were both just another couple of starving dusters struggling for whatever coins you could beg or scavenge for. Now look at you. Your sister has braids down to here, gold capped teeth, can play the harp and even recite elven poetry. Every man's dream! And you beautiful are the loveliest knife in my arsenal. Neither one of you has gone hungry with old Beraht. So I think it's about time my investment paid off. All she has to do is find some lord and squeeze out a kid that looks like him and we can all live the high life in the Diamond Quarter." Beraht said casually.

"Natia, please don't get involved. I don't want you getting into any unnecessary trouble." the elder sister pleaded with her sibling.

"I don't like him treating you like this." the younger sister responded.

Natia Brosca had learned to tolerate Beraht for the sake of her family's well being. Working for him had indeed allowed the sisters to get by quite well and clear up their drunken mother's alcohol debts. But she'd been growing more and more aggravated with his belligerence towards her sister. "Rica, I'm not just going to stand here while he demoralizes you." Natia said.

"I'll treat her however I want as long as she's eating off my plate. And you keep your pretty little head down and say aye whenever I decide you need to get those lovely hands of yours dirty." Beraht responded. "Don't forget, I'm the one who keeps you prettied up and dressed in the finest till you rope yourself a noble. Once you squeeze out a son for him you can both go free and uncle Beraht gets to join the family and live like a lord for the rest his life." Beraht said. "I'm giving you one more week sweetheart. If you haven't snagged a lord by then, it's back to sweeping streets." he added.

"But I have met someone, I didn't want to promise anything, but he seemed interested." Rica responded.

"See. Now get off her back and fill me in on whatever dirty work you've got for me today." Natia said as she faced Beraht.

"Your buddy Leske is waiting outside, he'll fill you in. And don't even think about screwing this up, you and your sister are on thin enough ice as it is." Beraht responded in an irritated tone before leaving.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Natia." Rica said.

"We're sisters Rica. We share everything, good and bad." Natia responded as she held her sister's hand.

"I've always tried to keep you from certain things though. At least I've managed to keep you from buying your future with what's between your legs." she said wearily.

"I just wish we didn't have to work for that scum." Natia spat.

"You know what the other options are Natia. Begging, scavenging or going to the surface. No little sister, unless we become paragons and save everyone from darkspawn we're stuck with Beraht for life." she said in a half sarcastic half dreary sort of voice.

"Ha! Me a paragon? Never gonna happen." Natia said in a rather wry manner. "Castless aren't even allowed to fight in the army or do anything that could better themselves or this sodding kingdom for that matter. Darkspawn have nearly overrun the troops and they still won't allow casteless to take up arms." Natia remarked.

"True. I hear they're starting to cause trouble on the surface as well. There's even been talk that the grey wardens are on the move." Rica responded.

"Grey wardens, huh? I heard they recruit anyone who can fight." The thought lingered in her head for a moment before she remembered that she had work to do. "I'd better get to it, I'll see you later Rica." She hugged her sister before making her way to the exit of their scruffy dwelling. As she did, their drunken, bitter mother noticed her passing by.

"You know your biggest asset is between your legs right? When are you going to decide to put your body to good use? Eh?" she drunkenly slurred as her daughter approached.

"Maybe when you decide to sober up and become a decent human being." Nadia shot back at her. "Now sleep it off like you always do. I've got work to get to." she said as the old woman dozed off.

Waiting outside was her old friend Leske. He also worked for Beraht and they were often partnered together to do his 'dirty work.' Leske was a decent enough partner in crime, but his incessant flirting towards Natia and her sister did get on her nerves from time to time. "Bout time you showed up. I was starting to think I'd have to break in and catch an eyeful of that hot sister of yours." Leske said as she approached.

"Leske, it's far too early in the day for me to be beating you already." Natia responded.

"Jealous? Besides, I can't say I'd mind if you wanted to lay into me a little." he said as he smirked.

She ignored him him. "So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked.

"The boss wants us to find a smuggler named Oskias who's been holding back on his profits and find out what he's been holding back."

Natia nodded. "So where might we find this charming fellow?" she asked. "Tapster's Tavern might be a good bet." Leske responded. "Let's get going then." Nadia said.

Oskias wasn't hard to find once they arrived at the tavern. The barkeep was more than happy to point them in the right direction after realizing who they worked for. "Hello Oskias." Nadia greeted as she took a seat across from the merchant at a nearby table. "Let's keep this short and to the point. Empty your bags. NOW." Natia demanded as she eyed Oskias.

"W-What?! I don't know who you are but-"

"Cut the crap, Leske search him." Natia cut him off as she directed her partner towards the man's bags.

"W-Wait! Please! This is about Beraht right? I admit I have some lyrium ore, I cut a side deal with one of the mining families. If it all worked out I was gonna bring Beraht his cut, I swear!" Oskias explained. "Listen how about I share a few nuggets with you and you forget you saw me?" Oskias pleaded.

"Give us everything you have and maybe you'll walk away from this." Natia said coolly. Oskias was quick to oblige and Natia found herself with two nuggets of lyrium ore. "I suggest you disappear now." she said as she and Leske stood to leave.

"Oh thank you! You're as gracious as you are beautiful! You'll never see me again, I promise!" Oskias declared before leaving the tavern. After agreeing to split the profits, Leske suggested visiting a merchant friend of his named Olinda who'd be willing to buy the nuggets. Olinda was less than thrilled to see Leske, who apparently did his fair share of flirting with her as well, a fact that she wasn't keen on her husband finding out. Upon leaving her shop they were each thirty silvers richer and quite pleased with themselves. Having completed the job they decided to go and see Beraht.

Natia and Leske were fully prepared to lie their way out of the finer details of the job upon entering Beraht's shop. Beraht was waiting with his second in command, Jarvia. She'd always struck Natia as an ugly, manipulative bitch who always managed to stay in Beraht's good graces."So how'd it go with Oskias?" he asked.

"Unfortunately he didn't have any gold or lyrium." Natia said.

"What kind of garbage are you feeding me?!" Beraht scowled.

"He told us he'd been putting together a side deal for lyrium and that he'd already sold it." Leske added.

"Jarvia get a team together topside and sniff out any hiding spots Oskias might've had." he ordered.

"On it," Jarvia responded.

"And as for the punishment?" Beraht was now eying the pair.

"He's dead, obviously." Nadia replied.

"Interesting. My cousin happened to be at Tapster's earlier you know. And he says he saw something change hands between you two and Oskias before the short changing bastard ran out. Care to explain that?" Beraht asked.

"Oskias IS dead, we just couldn't do it in public." Natia retorted.

"Maybe you can off people in a crowded tavern Beraht, but we have to be more careful. So we just quietly killed him out of sight and dumped the body in the lava fields behind the mines." Leske added.

"Hm, well it's true we don't need the guards breathing down our necks. That's why I like you two. Now I've got something else for you to handle." Beraht said with a smile. He went on to explain how there was a big proving tournament and how he was taking and placing bets. Apparently Beraht had a sizeable sum of gold placed on a fighter named Everd and he wanted to insure his victory by having Natia and Leske drug his opponents right before the fights began. After his explanation he gave them a proving pass and sent them on their way, but not before emphasizing how much money he had on Everd and how screwing things up would be detrimental to their continued existence.

Natia and Leske made their way to the proving grounds and quickly located Everd's quarters. Unfortunately, the man was passed out drunk.

"Dammit, this bastard is worse than my mother." Natia said.

"This is bad Natia. Beraht will have our hides if he loses money on this." Leske stated.

Natia thought for a moment. "Alright, we're out of options. I'll just have to dress in this idiot's armor and fight in his place." Natia said in a matter of fact tone.

"Are you crazy?" Leske asked.

"No, just desperate. The same as you." Natia replied.

"Fair enough," Leske said. "You'd better hurry and change before anyone can wise up." Leske responded. After kicking Leske out of the room, Natia put on the drunken warrior's armor, complete with helmet and visor to conceal her identity. Afterwards she headed to the proving entrance. After confirming to the guard that she was ready to fight she made her way into the arena. She was actually looking forward to beating down a few of the warrior caste. Even though she was hiding her identity, it would still prove that a casteless could fight just as well as any warrior.

As the applause died down, the proving master announced the match. Natia would be fighting an Officer Mainar who apparently survived the Battle of Kar Elerin. After exchanging some very brief pleasantries, the fight commenced. Natia's movements were fast and fluid and her daggers were a blur. In a matter of seconds she'd won the bout without even breaking a sweat. The crowd was ecstatic. Next up was the previous year's journeyman division champ, Adalbo. He had a huge ax and Natia couldn't help but wonder if he was compensating for something. Of course that's what she pondered about all men who used oversized weapons. Her movements were far to swift for him to actually land a blow and she'd once again laid out another of the warrior caste. Her next opponent was a woman named Lenka who also happened to be a candidate for the Silent Sisters. Natia had heard of them before, an order of all female warriors. Lenka wielded a pair of swords and Natia could tell she'd be much faster than her previous opponents. As the battle began, Natia exploited the advantage her daggers gave her in close quarters after dodging Lenka's sword strikes and closing in. She delivered a flurry of slashes that delivered her third victory. The proving master voiced his approval and was about to announce the final round when Everd burst into the arena believing he'd been late.

"How dare you disrupt this sacred-"

"Wait, I know that man. That's Everd! Then what imposter did I fight?" Mainar cut in.

"You! Reveal yourself at once!" the proving master demanded. Knowing there was little point in continuing the charade, Natia removed her helmet.

"I have no caste or clan and yet I bested your finest here today!" she proclaimed. "And I'd do it again if given the chance." she added. Guards began entering the arena immediately as the crowd let loose their outrage.

"Casteless, you disgrace this honored ground with your presence! Guards take her from my sight!"

Natia wasn't sure how many guards she'd managed to take down before she was finally overwhelmed, but when she awoke she wasn't surprised to find herself in a prison cell. She was however, slightly surprised to find that she was still alive.

"Damn, it's about time you woke up." Natia realized she wasn't alone and saw Leske in a nearby cell. "Did you have to take out so many guards?" he asked.

"Serves them right, hypocritical bastards." Natia said bitterly.

"Well they made sure to pay me back and then some for your little rampage." Leske said wearily. Natia began looking around and started to notice blood stains on the walls around the cells. "I don't like the look of this place." she said grimly.

A few moments later, Jarvia appeared. "Good you're awake, Beraht will happy to hear that." she said in a sinister sort of way. "Beraht lost a hundred sovereigns on the proving since it was declared invalid. He was in a frenzy when he told me to get you. He had to move quickly with the bribes for us to get you here. This is one of the deepest cells in Beraht's estate. You nearly exposed him to the entire warrior caste, so now he has to silence you." Jarvia added.

"I doubt that coward has the stones to try and kill me himself. And if he does he'll see I don't scare easily." Nadia said coldly.

Jarvia simply laughed. "Enjoy your last night alive, a shame we didn't put you in the same cell. You could have had one final tumble together." Jarvia said as she left.

Natia knew she had to act quickly. Beraht was the lowest kind of scum and she knew he wouldn't be above going after her sister to get revenge. She took another look around her cell and noticed a pile of splinters in a corner. She figured Leske might be able to use them to open their cells since his lock picks had been confiscated. She indiscreetly passed them to him while their guard had his back turned. Leske immediately went to work. He quickly picked the lock on his cell and crept up on the guard and slit his throat with a knife he'd managed to keep hidden. Afterwards, he opened Natia's cell. A nearby chest contained all of their weapons and armor and they wasted no time in equipping them. "Time to pay Beraht a little visit." Natia said before setting off to find her former boss.

As they made their way through the bowels of Beraht's estate it wasn't long before they began encountering his thugs. Unfortunately for them this was a bad day to screw with Natia. Of course, even on her worst day Natia was leagues ahead of the common thugs employed by Beraht and even the city guards. She was easily one of the best fighters in the city and her performance in the proving was a testament to the fact. She was also incredibly pissed off and desperate to get to Beraht before he could make a move against her sister. That being said, most of the thugs actually died before they hit the floor. Natia was like a phantom cutting and backstabbing through all resistance, Leske could hardly keep up.

After carving their way to the top of the estate, Natia over heard Beraht discussing Rica with two of his thugs.

"I'm cutting the whore off. If her sister can't learn her place, she's useless to me." he said.

"You mean Rica? I've been wanting a piece of her for a long time." one the thugs responded.

"Yeah, me too." another one said eagerly.

"Well help yourselves boys, and let me tell you, she's as sweet as she looks." Beraht laughed. Natia couldn't stomach anymore and burst into the room.

"New plan Beraht. How about I cut your balls off and choke you with them!" Natia yelled as she stormed in.

"What the hell?! Kill her!" he shouted.

As if following through with her threat, Natia quickly kicked Beraht in the groin and tossed a fire bomb into the face of one of the thugs. While they both fell to the floor writhing in agony, Natia buried both of her daggers into the kidneys of the other thug who fell instantly. She then turned her attention to Beraht who'd recovered slightly and was now standing. He had his sword and shield drawn, but it was too little too late. Natia had closed the distance between them far too fast and her first strike tore into his throat instantly. She followed up with a slash across his left eye that dropped him immediately. The thug she'd fire bombed earlier was now trying to crawl away. She tossed one of her daggers into the back of his neck before turning her attention back to Beraht who was still clinging to life but fading fast. "Consider this our resignation Beraht, mine and my sister's." She then stabbed him in the other eye and casually made her way to the exit as he laid dying with Leske following close behind.

"Damn! Did you-I mean and then-just-DAMN!" Leske was still in shock. As they made their way through the exit tunnel they found that it led back to Beraht's shop. Upon leaving they were met by Rica.

"Thank the stone! Every guard in Orzammar is looking for you Natia! You have to leave the city and fast!" Rica said desperately.

"I won't be shedding any tears over leaving this place but what about you Rica? I can't just leave you, even with Beraht dead." Natia responded.

"I'll be fine. My _friend_ has invited me to stay with him. So don't worry." Rica assured her sister.

"Your friend huh? Well he'd better treat you right Rica." The two sisters hugged each other before Natia turned to Leske. "So what are your plans?" she asked.

"I'll lay low in Dust Town for awhile till things die down. You're the one who's public enemy number one, remember?" Leske laughed.

"Well, I guess it's time I left." Natia said.

"Wait, the guards are watching the entrance that leads to the surface." Rica said in a panic.

"Then I guess I won't be going outside then." Natia responded.

"You can't mean-"

"Rica, if my choices are certain death or the possibility of death, I'll always choose the latter. Who knows, maybe I'll run into some wardens." Natia said before speeding through the commons towards the mine entrance. As she did so several guards began gathering ahead of her with the proving master in the lead.

"Stop! you're under arrest for-"

"Humiliating the warrior caste. Or for proving what a casteless is capable of? Either way I don't have time to play with you sodding morons!" She said as she vaulted over the proving master's shoulders and landed behind the guards. She continued towards the entrance to the deep roads but not before tossing a tar bomb at the guards. As they all tripped and stumbled into each other the last thing they saw was the vivid crimson hair of a lovely young woman who was making a rather obscene gesture as she disappeared into the deep roads.


	8. Chapter 8: Politics

Chapter 8: Politics

Within the royal palace of Orzammar a young dwarven prince was making his final preparations before attending a feast in his honor. He was dressed in a set of massive dwarven armor of the finest quality and currently surveying himself in a mirror. The young man was sporting a beard that extended into a braid, as was common for many men in Orzammar. His golden hair was tied into a ponytail while his brown eyes exuded the immense pride he was feeling at the moment. Today Duran, second son of king Endrin of house Aeducan would be presented as Orzammar's newest military commander. As Duran looked himself over, he couldn't help but smile. Just as he finished admiring his visage, his second, Gorim of house Saelac entered the room.

"Greetings my lord, you're dressed and ready to go, excellent. I'm afraid I couldn't find the armor's matching dagger, but I did manage to dig up a rather fancy war axe. Do you wish to wear your shield as well?" Gorim asked.

"I'm a warrior first and foremost Gorim, besides I doubt I'll be the only one armed." Duran joked.

"True, a room full of nobles armed to the teeth makes for a more interesting celebration I suppose." They both laughed. "Your father wants to make sure you make an appearance, but there's no rush." Gorim said.

"Well then let's go out and have some fun while we still can. I'm actually itching to visit the proving arena." Duran replied.

As they made their way out of Duran's room and down the hall they noticed a rather attractive young woman with red hair disappear into his younger brother, Bhelen's room. Duran lightly chuckled to himself. "Bhelen's little _friend_ is here again. If Trian catches them he'll blow a gasket." Duran thought to himself. As they made their way outside the palace they stumbled onto an argument between Bruntin of house Vollney and an aggravated looking scholar.

"Master Vollney, my book has been accredited by the shaperates themselves. I only write what's been recorded in history." the scholar said defensively.

"Lies! It's all lies spread by house Vollney's enemies!" Bruntin yelled.

"What's the trouble gentleman?" Duran asked as he approached the two.

"Lord Aeducan! You can vouch for my work. Your father loved my book, _History of Adeucan, Paragon, King , Peacemaker_." the scholar implored.

"Wait, you're Gertek? I enjoyed that book myself actually." Duran said in a cheerful manner. Gertek grinned in appreciation.

"This worm has been spreading lies about house Vollney!" Bruntin said as he scowled at Gertek.

"I simply revealed the fact that Paragon Vollney, the founder of house Vollney, was elected as paragon by the most narrow margin in history, one vote. There's also strong evidence of intimidation and bribery being involved. The records of the vote are kept at the shaperate and are a matter of fact. You can't erase historical facts just because you don't like them." Gertek said.

"Gertek is right. We can't change history when it inconveniences us." Duran said.

"You'd side with this scum. You've made a big mistake." Bruntin said before walking off.

"That fool has no idea how weak his house is or how low he sits in it. Shall I have him killed my lord?" Gorim asked.

"Handle it." Duran responded.

"You've proven yourself a friend to research, history and the truth my lord." Gertek said gratefully.

"Just do me a favor and send me a copy of your book on Aeducan. I'm getting tired of borrowing my father's copy." Duran said.

"Of course my lord and I'll remember your deeds once I begin writing of your history." Gertek said cheerfully before leaving.

As Duran and Gorim made their way towards the exit of the diamond quarter they encountered his elder brother Trian accompanied by his younger brother Bhelen. "Greetings Duran, it's surprising to see you among the common folk." Bhelen said cheerfully.

"Especially when you're supposed to be at a feast being held in your honor." Trian added. "Have you so little respect for our father that you'd spend your day playing, instead of honoring his wishes?" Trian asked as he faced him. Trian was a constant thorn in Duran's side. He was next in line to inherit the throne and was quick to throw his weight around.

"I'll attend the feast when I'm good and ready Trian. You aren't the boss of me and you're NOT the king, yet." Duran responded casually. Bhelen started to look nervous as Trian glared at Duran.

"I suggest you start learning to respect my authority. Father won't live forever." Trian said in a threatening manner.

"I suggest you kiss my ass. Let's go Gorim." Duran said as he walked past.

"I'll make sure father hears of this! You hear me!?" Trian shouted back as they continued on their way.

"It's always a joy to meet the future king." Gorim said sarcastically.

"Why does he always feel the need to be a pain in my ass?" Duran asked.

"Probably because you're the king's favorite and your chances of inheriting the throne are better than his." Gorim said casually.

"You're joking, right?" Duran laughed.

"Not at all. With that personality of his the best he can hope for is deadlocking the assembly. He'll never get enough votes to get elected king. And there are whispers of support for you inheriting the throne." Gorim finished.

"Not only do I not want the throne, some of my ideas would inevitably scandalize the more temperamental castes." Duran said.

"Expanding trade with the surface isn't THAT controversial. Casteless reforms, well that could be a problem." Gorim responded.

"Understatement of the era my friend. As far as I'm concerned Trian can have the throne or spend the rest of his life fighting for it. I want no part in Orzammar politics. I'm a warrior and at least in the battlefield the messes are straight forward." Duran said as they continued walking.

Near the exit of the diamond quarter Duran noticed a couple of attractive women dressed in some very form flattering dresses. As he approached them they were quick to greet him. "Hello my lord, you honor us with your presence." one of them said. "I'm Mardy and this is Teli and we'd love to get better acquainted with you, alone." the woman continued.

"Subtlety isn't your strong point is it?" he said with a smile.

"They're noble hunters my lord. Their goal is to conceive and birth a son with a noble so that their family can be elevated to the status of the father's house and they can live as concubines within the house while raising the child. It adds more sword arms to the houses so many nobles favor them." Gorim said.

"So I suppose any noble would satisfy you?" Duran asked.

"The most handsome son of the king would certainly have priority, my lord. That is if you're interested." Mardy replied.

"And what if I said I wanted both of you?" Duran responded.

"His highness has quite the appetite, but we require your full attention. You're welcome to us both, but not at the same time." Mardy said coyly.

"Then both of you wait for me in my chambers after the ceremony." Duran said with a smile.

"As you wish my lord." Teli responded with a grin.

"This will be interesting." Mardy said as she and Teli headed towards the palace.

"Well that should cover my amusement for the evening." Duran thought to himself as he and Gorim continued towards the commons.

As they made their way to the proving ground they overheard gossip among some of the fans regarding a casteless who recently snuck into a tournament and bested some of the warriors. "A shame I missed that." Duran thought to himself as they entered the arena. The proving master welcomed them as they entered.

"My lord Aeducan, you honor us with your presence." he said. "Shall I show you to your seats?" he asked.

"Show me to the ring instead. I could use some exercise." Duran responded.

"My lord, this proving is being held in your honor." the proving master said somewhat sheepishly.

"Then honor his lord by showing him to the ring." Gorim said sternly.

"I'll test the skill of these warriors myself." Duran stated before he was led to the arena.

The crowd roared their applause as Duran entered the arena. His first opponent was Aller Bemot, the youngest son of Lord Bemot. He was wielding a rather large, two handed hammer but Duran wasn't concerned. He readied his shield and drew his ax and awaited his opponent's next move. As Aller closed in and swung his hammer Duran skillfully ducked beneath the swing and followed with a shield bash to his opponent's face. Aller was instantly knocked unconscious and Duran picked up his first victory. His next match was against Adal Helmi. She was wielding a pair of daggers and Duran knew her movements would be more swift than his own. Sure enough as the match began she let loose a flurry of slashes that Duran barely managed to guard against with his shield. He waited for a break in her attack and quickly overwhelmed her with a string of attacks with his shield. He'd secured a second victory and was feeling quite pleased with himself. Duran also proved victorious in his third battle against the rather arrogant Ser Blackstone who'd apparently failed to teach him a 'lesson in bleeding.' His final opponent was Frandlin Ivo who used a shield and sword. He ended up being no match for Duran who went on to win the tournament. After being presented with the proving helm as victor of the tournament, Duran decided that it was about time to head to the feast.

After returning to the palace and entering the feast Duran couldn't help but notice Ronus Dace who was eager to speak with him. "Something I can help you with Lord Dace?" Duran asked.

"Yes your highness. There's an urgent matter that will soon be brought before the assembly and I'd appreciate your help." Ronus explained.

"What is this urgent matter?" Duran asked.

"I'm presenting a proposal that would allow surface dwarves to reclaim their clan status when they return to Orzammar. They are our kin after all and deserve to be treated as such." Ronus said in what Duran believed to be a falsely sentimental voice.

"And you're motivated purely by your conscience? Forgive me Lord Dace, but surface dwarves have been getting a raw deal for a long time now and I find it hard to believe that you of all people would suddenly start to care." Duran said casually.

"Fair enough your highness, the truth is I could care less about surface dwarves. But my wife has a cousin she cares about who traveled to the surface on some foolish venture and now he's broke and wants to return. Unfortunately he can't because in the eyes of our people he has no caste or clan now. So I'm compelled to do what I can." Ronus admitted.

"Fine, I'll endorse your proposal." Duran relented. "Thank you your highness. You've done me a huge service." Ronus said gratefully.

As Duran began mingling further he noticed the matriarch of the Helmi family attempting to get his attention. "Hello Lady Helmi." Duran said as he approached.

"I can't believe you just let Dace manipulate you like that!" she said disapprovingly.

"Excuse me?" Duran said, clearly confused.

"Recently Dace lost a fortune funding an expedition on the surface. He has no way of getting the money back, but if the surface dwarves who owe him were allowed to return their houses would have to pay their debts. Both your house and mine would be among them." she explained.

"See Gorim, this is exactly why I hate politics." Duran said. "I'm going to go and have a little chat with Dace." Duran said angrily.

"You could play along and then turn the tables when he asks for your opinion in front of everyone." Lady Helmi advised.

"I prefer the direct approach." Duran said before turning and making his way to Lord Dace. "I'm onto to your scheme Dace. Consider yourself warned, if you try anything like this again you'll lose more than just a few more sovereigns." Duran said angrily.

"Welcome to assembly politics your highness." Dace said in a matter of fact tone. "I believe I'll take my leave now." he said as he left.

Duran decided it was about time to speak with his father. As he made his way towards the throne, his father happily greeted him. "Finally the guest of honor! I hear you won the provings today. You never could sit still could you?" the king laughed. "Are you ready to be presented to heads of the houses?" the king asked.

"Yes father." Duran responded. The king smiled as he introduced Duran.

"Honored guests, may I have your attention please? I'm proud to present to you all my second oldest son and Orzammar's newest commander. Tomorrow he will lead an expedition into deep roads that will be the first step in reclaiming that which was lost long ago."

As the applause died down, Duran's father asked him to find Trian. Duran found Trian in his room with Bhelen.

"Father wants to speak with you Trian." Duran said as he entered.

"Of course he does, we need to discuss strategy for tomorrow. Bhelen humor our newest _commander _if you must, then get to bed." Trian responded before leaving.

"I don't know how you put up with him to be honest." Bhelen said.

"Years of practice, the same as you." Duran responded.

"Duran listen, I have something to tell you that you're not going to want to hear. Trian is planning to kill you." Bhelen said in cautious tone.

"What?" Duran appeared mildly stunned.

"I overheard him giving orders to his men and it started to make sense. He's always been jealous of your popularity and he's paranoid about you taking the throne from him. Please, be on your guard tomorrow." Bhelen said.

"Gorim, what's your opinion about all of this?" Duran asked as they made their way out of Trian's room.

"Trian would be a terrible king and like I said before he'll never get enough votes from the assembly. He might be desperate enough to make a move against you. If he does, know that I'll stand by your side my prince." Gorim said as he faced Duran.

"Gorim...Thanks. I'm not sure what Trian's plotting, but I'll deal with it when the time comes." Duran said as they parted ways. He was still concerned about Bhelen's warning but decided not to obsess over it, after all there were two lovely ladies awaiting his company and he wasn't about to disappoint them.

The next day Duran and Gorim made their way to the deep roads for the expedition. Lord Harrowmont, the king's most trusted advisor, debriefed everyone on the plan. Trian would be leading a team to clear the side tunnels of darkspawn. Bhelen would second the king clearing the main road. Duran and Gorim would be tasked with claiming the Aeducan shield, a family heirloom, which the king believed to be located behind a secret door deeper in the tunnels. Duran would be able to open the door with his family's signet ring. After departing they made their way deeper into the tunnels and before long encountered darkspawn. The creatures were no match for Duran or Gorim and their numbers were far too scarce to overwhelm them. Further on they encountered Frandlin Ivo who congratulated Duran again for his victory in the provings. He also mentioned that he'd scouted the area and hid to avoid the darkspawn after discovering them. Apparently the door they were looking for was surrounded by darkspawn. After filling them in Frandlin joined the duo as they made their way deeper into the tunnels. After battling a few more darkspawn they met another scout who joined them. When they finally arrived at the door they discovered fresh darkspawn corpses and that it was already open.

"Looks like someone beat us to it." Gorim said.

"Whoever opened it had to have an Aeducan signet ring." Duran responded. "Be on your guards, but don't do anything rash." Duran said before they proceeded through the door.

After crossing a bridge past the door they found their mystery men. "Well, Well. It's about time you showed up, I was afraid the darkspawn might have killed you." the leader of the group said.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" Duran asked.

"I'm your better. As for how I got in, one of prince Trian's men gave me a ring that allowed me to get inside. Now tell me where the shield is before I kill you." the man said. Duran signaled Gorim and they quickly lashed out against the men. Duran struck their chatty leader with his shield and quickly followed up with an attack with his ax that took his head off. Gorim had knocked one of the other men over and planted his sword into his chest. After they finished off the others Duran discovered Trian's signet ring on the body of the enemy leader.

"I guess Trian got sloppy." Duran said.

"Finding the shield would've been a major boon for him, too bad he failed." Gorim replied.

"Let's hurry up and find it ourselves, he may have hired more mercenaries." Duran was already on the move. Further on they discovered the chamber housing the shield. After analyzing the chamber Duran positioned his men at various points around the room before finally using his signet ring to unlock a sarcophagus in the center. Duran quickly grabbed the shield and the group made their way to the exit.

As they were leaving the area, they were ambushed by darkspawn. Despite the surprise attack, Duran and his followers were easily able to cut down the creatures. After they made their way to the meeting point they discovered a gruesome scene. Trian and his men were all lying on the ground, dead. "It must have been a darkspawn attack!" Gorim said.

"This doesn't look like darkspawn. No bites, scratches, or mutilation." the scout replied. Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching.

"Hurry father before it's too-" said the voice of Bhelen before he was cut off. The king immediately brushed past him to examine Trian's body.

"Duran tell me this isn't what it looks like." the king asked.

"Father I had nothing to do with this." Duran said honestly.

"He killed Trian just as he said he would." Bhelen added.

"My lord is innocent!" Gorim shouted.

"Ser Gorim, your loyalty makes you a useless witness." Lord Harrowmont said as he entered the scene. "You there, scout what happened here?" Harrowmont asked.

"Lord Trian got here early after fighting darkspawn. Lord Duran approached him and then ordered us to attack." the scout said.

"That's a lie!" Duran shouted. "Trian and his men were dead when we arrived!" he added desperately.

"Lord Ivo is what this scout said true?" Harrowmont asked.

"Yes, Prince Duran even stole Prince Trian's signet ring after cutting him down." Ivo responded.

"You traitorous bastard!" Gorim shouted.

"Silence Gorim!" the king yelled. "Duran do you have anything else to say?" the king asked as he faced his son.

"Father I didn't kill Trian. This is all a setup!" Duran said as he stared at his father.

"I want to believe that Duran." the king said as he looked at his son, his eyes full of sorrow.

"Bind him, he will stand trial before the assembly. Let us return to Orzammar." Harrowmont ordered.

As Duran sat in his prison cell one thought continued to resonate in his head. Bhelen. He'd set him up perfectly and now the throne would be his. How long did he spend planning this? Did he spend years molding his image as the unassuming, helpful younger brother. Then there was Frandlin Ivo, how much did it cost for Bhelen to pay him off? And that scum bag scout. How much was a man's honor worth? Duran released a sigh as Gorim appeared outside his cell. "Gorim what's going on? Why hasn't the assembly called for me yet?" Duran asked.

"The assembly won't be summoning you. Bhelen has assumed Trian's position in the assembly and moved to condemn you immediately. He already has half the support of the assembly. He had to have been plotting, bribing and making deals for years to pull this off." Gorim said solemnly. It was just as Duran suspected.

"And what of you old friend? What have they condemned you to?" Duran asked quietly. "I've been stripped of my knighthood and my name will be torn from my family's records. I've also been banished to the surface." Gorim said.

"Dammit!" Duran shouted.

"Harrowmont moved for a similar punishment for you but Bhelen's supporters swarmed him. You're to be sealed in the deep roads to fight darkspawn until you're overwhelmed and killed." Gorim added sadly.

"What does father have to say about all of this?" Duran asked.

"The king fell ill not long after he heard your sentence, he couldn't bear losing two sons at once." Duran shook his head in sadness. "Did you plan this too Bhelen? Are you planning to kill our father as well?" he thought to himself.

"Lord Harrowmont told me there may be grey wardens scouting the deep roads. If you can find them, join their order. It's your only chance at survival."

Duran responded without hesitation, "I'll find them somehow, and I'll survive. I won't give Bhelen the satisfaction of dying." Gorim looked at his friend.

"This is goodbye then, live on Lord Aeducan and may our paths cross again someday." The old friends shook hands one last time before Gorim left.

Later as Lord Harrowmont and a guard escorted him to the entrance of the deep roads, Duran couldn't help but worry about his father. "Having been found guilty of fratricide, you are hereby sentenced to exile and death. Your name will be stripped from the records, you are no longer a person nor a memory. You are to be cast into the deep roads with nothing but a sword and shield where you'll fight the enemies of Orzammar until your death. Do you have anything to say before you leave?" Harrowmont was looking him in the eyes as he spoke.

"You and I both know Bhelen is behind all of this Harrowmont." Duran said as he stared at the old man.

"I have my suspicions Duran, but right now my hands are tied. Forgive me." Harrowmont then ordered the guard to give Duran a shield and sword. After he was given the only defense he'd be allowed, Harrowmont and the guard turned and left. As Duran made his way forward to proceed into the deep roads, there was one thing clear to him. He couldn't afford to die.

"Savor your victory now Bhelen. I'll be back to pay you a visit real soon." Duran said as he marched into the unknown.


	9. Chapter 9: Finding the Wardens

Chapter 9: Finding the Wardens

As Duran made his way further into the deep roads he vowed to himself that he'd have his revenge against Bhelen and was therefore determined to survive and find the grey wardens. Unfortunately he was presented with several serious problems. The first being the fact that the only weapons he had were complete garbage. The small wooden buckler and iron sword were of laughable quality and would prove to be utterly useless against better armed enemies. His second major concern was the fact that he had no armor to speak of. Unless he could salvage some from an abandoned thaig or a dead darkspawn, his chances of survival were fairly slim. Arguably his biggest problem though was the fact that he had no idea where to find the wardens nor was he certain they were actually in the deep roads at the moment. If he didn't find the wardens and make it to the surface, it wouldn't really matter how well equipped he was. Fortunately for him a solution to two of his problems arrived when he encountered his first set of darkspawn. He'd discovered a trio of genlocks sitting around a small campfire and caught them by surprise. After dispatching them, he set to work looting their bodies. Between the three he was able to salvage a full set of scale armor, an iron shield and a war axe. Feeling a bit better about his chances he set off deeper into the tunnels.

As he progressed further into the abyss he decided that his best chance of finding the wardens would be to think like them. If the wardens were in fact traveling the deep roads then they would likely be tracking the darkspawn's movements and so Duran decided to do the same. He'd expected to encounter far more of the creatures as he traveled, but so far he'd killed more deepstalkers and giant spiders than darkspawn. He was beginning to wonder whether they were gathering someplace else, maybe that's why the wardens were investigating. When he finally encountered another group he decided to confirm his suspicions. Instead of fighting them, he decided to follow them. Fortunately, the group of four hurlocks hadn't noticed him and he was careful to keep enough distance between them. They eventually led him to a cavern full of darkspawn. There were nearly a dozen of the creatures congregating in the center of the room near a large fire. Duran took a moment to contemplate what he was seeing. This obviously wasn't where the bulk of the beasts were massing. Was it possible that they were meeting up and making their way further? Exactly how big was the actual force they were heading to join? Still lost in thought, Duran attempted to move in for a closer look. Sadly, he wasn't accustomed to stealth and accidently tripped over an old rusted helm, long forgotten by time but not his clumsy feet apparently. "Sod it all!" he cursed.

The darkspawn reacted immediately and started closing in. The archers took positions and began firing at him relentlessly. Duran had to stay concealed behind the rocks on the edge of the cavern to avoid their arrows while at the same time fight off the creatures that were closing in on him. Duran's skill as a warrior was serving him well, as he dismembered an attacking hurlock who'd gotten too close. He then slammed his shield into the face of a genlock who'd tried to ambush him after blocking a pair of arrows with his shield. He'd thinned their ranks considerably, but the archers were still harassing him. But his biggest concern was the huge hurlock that was heading his way. It was clearly bigger and better armed than the others he'd put down and it was wielding an immense two handed sword of savage design. It was a vicious looking blade that was tarnished black and seemed to exude evil. Duran tried to maintain a defensive position behind the rocks so that he could at least continue to evade the archers. As the creature closed in, Duran readied his shield and prepared to battle the ferocious beast. The hurlock swung his sword with a frightening strength and speed that nearly caught Duran off guard. He'd managed to absorb most of the impact with his shield, but the force of the attack still sent him reeling. As he was knocked off balance, the creature attempted to follow up its attack with another brutal swing. Duran was prepared this time and dodged the attack while simultaneously exploiting the opening it provided. He quickly unleashed a string of shield strikes that brought the beast to its knees before finally taking the creature's head off with a final swing of his war axe. Bruised and exhausted, Duran decided to take a moment to catch his breath when he suddenly remembered that he still needed to deal with the archers. That was when he noticed they were no longer firing at him. Had they fled? He risked a glance from behind his cover to get a handle on the situation. All five of the darkspawn archers were dead, cut down at the different positions they'd taken to snipe at him. As he moved closer to investigate, he noticed that they'd all been cut down from behind.

"What the hell?" he mumbled when he suddenly felt the tip of a blade at back of his throat.

"You don't look like a scavenger and you're damn sure not a darkspawn." the voice behind the dagger said. "Are you part of one of the patrols from the city or some ambitious moron who decided to actually chase me this far?" the voice asked. It was a woman's voice, rough but also alluring.

"Neither, I don't even know who you are. I'm an exile trying to find my way to the grey wardens." Duran responded. There was a brief silence before the mystery woman lowered her dagger.

"Then I guess we have something in common." she said afterwards. As Duran turned to get a better look at her, he was immediately stunned by how pretty she was. Standing before him was the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on. She had long crimson hair and amber eyes that could put amber itself to shame. She was also dressed in a set of leather armor that struggled to conceal her curves. As he got a better look at her face he noticed her casteless brand.

"If you've got a problem with getting your ass saved by a casteless, say so now and I can toss you to the next batch of darkspawn that shows up." she said sternly.

"Even if I did, I'm in no position to judge you. As I mentioned before I'm an exile, in the eyes of Orzammar I don't even exist anymore." Duran said as he faced her. "Besides, I think I've had my fill of darkspawn for the day." he added.

The woman looked at him for a moment before grinning. "You're free to tag along with me then, I guess. I saw how you handled those darkspawn and I could use a good partner down here." she said.

"Far be it from me to refuse an invitation from a beautiful woman." Duran said with a smile. The woman looked over at him again and grinned.

"So Mr. Charming, what's your name?" she asked.

"Duran, and yours?" Duran asked as he looked at her.

"Natia. Well Duran, I think we should make ourselves scarce. It won't be long before more darkspawn show up. They've been moving in droves and I'm not eager to stumble onto any hordes. I've got a camp not too far from here, so follow me." she said.

Natia's camp was located in a fairly obscure cave that was not only difficult to find but also enter. Inside there was a fire pit and some meat she'd taken the time to smoke. "If you're hungry, help yourself. It's deepstalker meat by the way. It tastes like ass but it'll keep you moving at least." Natia said as they entered the camp. Duran actually was hungry and not in the mood to be picky. He grabbed some of the meat and began eating. "So what's your story anyway?" Natia asked as she watched him eat.

"What's yours?" Duran shot back between bites.

"I asked you first. So be a gentleman and humor me." Natia responded coyly. Just thinking about everything that had led him to that moment filled Duran with rage and regret. But for some reason he had no trouble sharing it all with Natia. Maybe it was because part of him wanted someone to hear the truth or maybe he was simply a sucker for a pretty face. Either way, after he finished his story Natia appeared quite stunned. "So you're one of the king's sons, a prince of Orzammar!" she finally said incredulously.

"I WAS. Not anymore. Thanks to Bhelen's scheming, I'm nothing now. Not even a memory." Duran said bitterly. Natia looked at him for a moment.

"I guess my story will sound pretty damn petty compared to yours." she said after awhile.

"Try me." Duran responded. So Natia recounted her experience being casteless, working for Beraht, the proving fiasco, murdering Beraht, and going on the run. Duran was quite attentive. "I'd heard about a casteless entering a tournament when I visited the proving grounds. I was disappointed that I missed it. Now that I know it was you, I'm even more disappointed." Duran said in a regretful tone.

"You're sorry that you missed the spectacle of a casteless beating the best of the warrior caste and then getting thrown in a cell?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm sorry I missed the chance to highlight what I've been saying all along." Duran responded. "A lot of casteless are criminals because we don't give them a choice. You winning that proving simply proves that casteless are capable of being accomplished fighters just like the warrior caste. They'd probably be decent smiths too. Or miners. Or anything, if they were given the chance." Duran said seriously. "Our damn politics will be our downfall. Allow the casteless to take up arms and the warriors would get threatened. The same goes for the other castes if they feel the casteless could outshine them. So they hide behind that old stigma around the casteless to cover their asses." Duran said sympathetically.

There was silence for awhile after Duran finished talking. "Why'd you have to go and get exiled," Natia finally said. "You're the kind of king Orzammar needs the most." she added.

"My older brother, Trian, was next in line to inherit the throne. Besides, you have to realize how controversial my opinions are. The assembly would never vote me in and honestly I never wanted the throne." Duran said.

"So basically, you think Orzammar needs to change, but you don't want to be the one who does it? What a lovely line of thinking." Natia remarked sarcastically.

"Whether I would or could is irrelevant now. Like I said before, I'm nothing now." Duran responded quietly. There was another moment of silence before Natia looked at Duran again.

"So why are you trying to find the wardens?" she asked.

"I intend to join them and make my way to the surface." Duran replied. "What about you?" he asked.

"Yeah, that was my plan too. But they're pretty damn hard to find, assuming they're even down here." she said.

"I agree, that's why I was tracking those darkspawn. I was hoping they'd lead me to wherever they're gathering and I'd hopefully run across the wardens." Duran said in a disappointed voice.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're obviously better at fighting than stealth. You're a little too clumsy for quiet work handsome." Natia said. Duran was quick to ignore her remark about him being clumsy when she mentioned that he was handsome. He couldn't help but feel a little elated despite the fact that he was back at square one in regards to finding the wardens. "You did have the right idea though. If the wardens are down here they'd have to be tracking these movements. I've been watching the darkspawn from the shadows and the way they're gathering is unsettling. I think something big is happening." "Alright, in the morning we'll pick up where you left off and try following another group. Stick close to me and don't trip over anything." Natia said with a grin as she looked at Duran.

"I've got no problem sticking close to you, but I can't promise that I won't be distracted by your beauty." Duran said while smiling.

"Do these lines ever actually work for you?" Natia laughed. Duran shrugged as Natia stood. "I'll take the first watch. You'll need the rest after your rumble with that big, ugly horror earlier." she said. Before making her way to the entrance to the cave she took a moment to stretch and toss her hair back. Duran couldn't help but notice it and found himself wondering if it had been for his benefit. As she walked off one thought echoed in his mind, "No matter what, stick with her."

They next day Duran and Natia immediately set their plan into action. It didn't take long for them to find a group of genlocks to indiscreetly follow and Natia was much better at stealth then Duran. Not only was she seemingly able to blend into the shadows, but she was also quite good at keeping Duran from blowing their cover. She'd let him know when to move closer, remain still and when to hide. They were able to follow their targets for quite awhile before they eventually led them to yet another massive gathering. At an intersection on the main road, they saw even more darkspawn than the previous day. There were at least two dozen of the creatures and they were well armed. Duran wasn't about to make the same mistake this time and he made sure to remain quiet and hidden, while Natia blended in the shadows. As they observed the creatures, they noticed how riled up they were becoming. It was as if they were rallying each other. Duran was beginning to wonder whether they'd be able to follow such a large group without being discovered. Even with Natia's talents, this was going to be tough.

Before he could ponder their next move further, there was an explosion in the center of the darkspawn. Several of the creatures were on fire, while others had simply fallen dead. He then noticed lightning tearing through their ranks. Some of the creatures tried to flee, but were quickly trapped in a circle that seemed to paralyze them. "What in the-" but before Duran could finish his thought, he saw them. A human dressed in robes and carrying a staff. He was accompanied by a rather large, menacing looking dog as well as a woman with a pair of swords who was cutting down the darkspawn who'd scattered. Not far behind them was an elf who was also wearing robes and wielding a staff. Flanking her on each side were two humans. One was a young man who seemed to resemble the woman with two swords, he had a rather exquisite sword himself and a shield bearing the image of two laurel wreaths intersecting. The other was older and had a beard, he had a serious look about him as he approached with his sword and dagger drawn. "This had to be them!" Duran thought to himself as he watched the scene unfold. The two in robes had to be mages. Duran had heard of them before but this was the first time he'd ever seen magic. As the darkspawn started to regroup, the elven mage made a motion with her hands and a moment later the darkspawn appeared to be caught in an earthquake. As they struggled to regain their footing and advance the other mage froze them solid. As they shattered the group immediately turned their attention to the stragglers on the edges of the battlefield. The young human with the sword and shield advanced on them guarding against the arrows that futilely bounced off his shield. Once in range, he unleashed a series of attacks that quickly dispatched his would be snipers. The older human cut down the remnants and before long the entire area was clear.

"Well at least we know for sure now that it was just a scattered band of stragglers. Based on everything we've seen, I think it's pretty safe to say they're gathering in the south." the human mage said.

"Well, we've definitely got plenty of experience fighting them now." the human with the sword and shield responded as he sheathed his weapon.

"It's been good practice for Ostagar." the woman with the swords added.

"True, but I want you all to remain on guard. The last thing we need is for you to-"

But before Duran could hear what the older human was going to say he found himself surrounded by several genlocks. Natia had already taken the initiative and begun fighting three of them. She'd managed to get a surprise attack on one as it was already dropping to the ground. Duran readied his shield and drew his war axe just in time to counter the attack of one of the genlocks. He tore into the creature with his war axe and quickly parried the slash of another before unleashing a series of shield strikes. While the creature fell over stunned, he dodged another genlock before bringing his war axe down on its head. He then finished off the still stunned enemy on the ground before turning his attention to Natia. He needn't have worried. She was already sheathing her daggers when he turned to her, three genlocks dead at her feet.

"Well, I'm impressed." Duran and Natia both turned quickly to see the human mage and female warrior standing behind them.

"High praise coming from you." the human female said as she grinned at the mage. They were soon joined by the others in their group.

"It would seem we have company." the older human remarked.

"Hello. Not to be rude but it's pretty dangerous to travel the deep roads right now, even with the darkspawn moving to the surface." the elven mage said politely.

"What!? They're moving to the surface? Are you telling me this is a blight?" Duran was clearly stunned.

"It appears that may be the case." the older human responded. "But right now I'd like to know what two dwarves are doing wandering the deep roads this far from Orzammar. You don't appear to be scavengers." the older human said.

"We were looking for you. You're wardens right? Well we're looking to join up." Nadia said casually. Duran nodded his agreement.

"And your names?" the man asked.

"I'm Nadia Brosca and he's Duran." Natia responded.

"The brand on your face indicates you're a casteless and what of you?" the man asked as he looked at Duran.

"In the eyes of my people, I no longer exist. But I was formerly of house Aeducan and the second son of Endrin Aeducan." Duran said.

"You mean king Endrin? Ah, I see. You're another unfortunate casualty of Orzammar politics." the man said in a sympathetic tone.

"Wait, he's a prince?" the human mage asked.

"He WAS a prince. He's merely a phantom now as far as his people are concerned." the older man responded. "I have no intention of prying into either of your histories. The wardens recruit anyone capable of fighting and the both of you are clearly qualified. My young companions and I were actually on our way to an exit so your timing is rather fortunate. My name is Duncan and I'm the leader of the grey wardens in Ferelden and these four are also recruits." the man called Duncan said as he turned to the youths. The young recruits all introduced themselves before Duncan began leading the way to an exit.

"And then there were six. Well seven if you count Dog." Daylen said casually as they continued outside.

"Duncan did say he wanted to find as many capable recruits as possible." Neria added.

"I can't say I blame him with a blight on its way." Aedan remarked.

"Welcome to our dysfunctional little family." Elissa said with a grin as she looked at Duran and Natia. They both appeared to be rather pale and fixated on the sky.

"Are you both alright?" Neria asked in a concerned tone.

"Give them a moment." Duncan responded. He quickly explained how dwarves who travel to the surface for the first time need time to adjust. As Duran got his bearings he looked at Natia who was trembling slightly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm alright handsome, but thanks for worrying." she said with a smile. Duran got a little red while Daylen and Aedan grinned at each other. As if averting disaster, Neria quickly elbowed them both and stared daggers at them.

"So Duncan, when will we be able to do the whole sensing darkspawn thing?" Daylen asked, clearly eager to avoid Neria's wrath.

"After you undergo the joining ritual and officially become grey wardens. But I wouldn't be in such a rush if I were you." Duncan responded.

"Why not?" Daylen asked.

"You'll see." Duncan replied.

"Typical Duncan." Daylen remarked as he mimicked the old man behind his back much to the amusement of the twins and the mild annoyance of Neria. They were soon approaching a forest.

"Where exactly are we?" Neria asked. "Near the Brecilian Forest." Duncan responded. Afterwards he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Aedan asked.

"It's strange, I can sense something but I'm fairly certain there aren't any darkspawn nearby." Duncan said.

"So what is it?" Daylen asked.

"Something worth investigating. Let us go." Duncan responded as he led his rather confused group of recruits onward into the forest.


	10. Chapter 10: Tainted

Chapter 10: Tainted

Deep in the bowels of a forest long forgotten by men, a trio of humans were fleeing for their lives. As they reached a clearing, one of them stumbled and fell. After helping their companion to his feet, the humans turned to find themselves face to face with a Dalish hunter who had his bow trained on them.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" the elf asked in mock curiosity. He was soon joined by another hunter who'd also had his bow aimed at the humans. "Theron, you're just in time. It seems we have vermin prowling the forest." the first elf remarked. Theron Mahariel was a proud Dalish hunter and also ardently protective of his clan. He was also very much attuned with nature, a trait that all Dalish elves shared, but for Theron even more so. The elf seemingly embodied the nature of the forest itself. He had long dark hair and grey eyes that appeared serene, but concealed an unbridled ferocity that none had seen and lived to speak of. The tattoos on his face, or vallaslin as the Dalish called them, were also quite unique. The patterns amplified his wild yet calm persona. But Theron wasn't just a loyal Dalish hunter, he was also a rational man with a keen sense of honor. Although the humans standing before them were undeniably close to their camp, they were also clearly harmless. This was a fact that his best friend Tamlen would likely try to ignore.

"So Theron what do think we should do with these shemlin? Killing them seems like the most sensible thing to do." Tamlen said.

"What?! You can't kill us! We didn't even know there were Dalish around here." the human said desperately.

"Yeah! We were just exploring some ruins in a cave. We figured we could find some treasure or something useful." another human added.

"So you're common thieves then?" Tamlen asked. "We know this forest better than anyone and I've never seen any ruins." Tamlen added.

"It's true! Here look at this!" one of the humans said as he handed Tamlen a relic.

"Is this elvish writing?" Tamlen asked as he examined the item.

"You can check the place out for yourself if you want. We ran for it when a demon showed up."

"It was huge, with black eyes. We're lucky we managed to escape." another human added.

"What do you think Theron? Should we check it out?" Tamlen asked.

"It's a good opportunity to learn more of our history. We might be able to find something for the keeper as well." Theron responded. After the exchange, the humans told them where the cave was located and Theron convinced Tamlen to let them go.

The journey to the cave that the humans had mentioned was fairly uneventful. The only hostile creatures that the two hunters faced were the occasional pack of wolves, hardly a danger to the seasoned warriors. They eventually reached the cave which neither could recall encountering before during their travels through the forest. As they ventured inside they were immediately beset by giant spiders. The creatures were no match for the duo and Theron's arrows always found their mark. Before long the creatures were all slain and the hunters proceeded deeper into the cave. Further in they encountered even more spiders who quickly fell before them and before long they discovered a statue reminiscent of those erected during the Arlathan era, a time before the elves were enslaved and subjugated, when they were denizens of their own empire. As they proceeded past the statue they were ambushed by skeletons. Once again Theron's marksmanship proved to be overwhelming and the creatures fell in a matter of seconds. Deeper inside they encountered a bear, or at least what appeared to be a bear. The creature had become twisted, as if something had corrupted it. This had to be the demon that the humans spoke of. It attacked almost immediately. Theron quickly fired several arrows into the creature's feet to hamper its movement. As it continued to stagger towards them, Tamlen quickly executed a series of strikes with his long sword before Theron fired one final arrow into the creature's skull. After the creature was subdued they noticed a large and ominous looking mirror in the center of the room.

"What is that?" Tamlen asked as he approached it.

"I'm not sure, but I don't trust it. There's an ominous aura around it." Theron replied.

"It must have been here for ages, it might date back to the days of Arlathan. We should at least examine it." Tamlen said while looking into the mirror.

"Tamlen, be careful." Theron advised as his friend stepped closer to the mirror. As Tamlen touched the mirror a bright flash of light suddenly engulfed the room and Theron was knocked out. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he could see the images of people standing over him. An older human with a beard, three other humans who were younger, a pair of dwarves and one of his people. A pretty elven girl with long, bright blond hair. He could hear voices and then nothing.

When Theron awoke, he found himself back at his clan's camp. As he stood and took a look around he was greeted by his fellow hunter Fenarel.

"Theron, you're finally awake! You were asleep for two days!" He said as Theron got his bearings.

"Two days? Wait, how did get I back here?" he asked.

"A group of grey wardens found you, their leader carried you back here. They left not long afterwards." Fenarel explained.

"Those must have been the people I saw." Theron thought to himself.

"The keeper has been using the old magic to heal you, you should probably go and see her." Fenarel added.

"What about Tamlen? Has anyone found him?" Theron asked.

"Most of the hunters are out looking for him." Theron was concerned. Whatever that mirror was, it had nearly killed him and possibly claimed Tamlen.

"Fenarel, go and get the keeper. I need to speak with her." Theron said in a serious tone.

"Theron, it is good to see you awake. I am glad Duncan found you when he did. Whatever dark power held you nearly bled the life from you. Even my magic could barely keep you alive." keeper Marethari said as she approached.

"Is Duncan the name of the grey warden leader who brought me back?" Theron asked.

"Yes, he introduced himself and his companions when they arrived." Marethari said. "He suspected that darkspawn were in the cave that was near the spot where he found you. Is that true?" she asked.

"I saw no darkspawn, but there were walking corpses and other creatures. There was also a mirror, possibly a relic from the days of Arlathan. Tamlen touched it and it released a bright light, after that I woke up here." Theron explained.

"A mirror? I've never heard of such a thing before. Tamlen is still missing and with your condition being what it was we can only assume he's in a similar state or worse. No history or lore is worth either of your lives." Marethari said seriously. "Duncan went to the cave to investigate possible darkspawn but we can't rely on him to find Tamlen." she added.

"I know where the cave is keeper, I can return to search for him." Theron quickly said.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to it dhalen? You've only just recovered." Marethari said in a slightly concerned tone.

"I'll be fine keeper and I want to find Tamlen as soon as possible." Theron said.

"Very well, take Merrill with you and be careful." Marethari replied. Merrill was the keeper's first or what humans would consider an apprentice. She would be tasked with someday taking the keeper's place. She was also a good friend and Theron knew he could rely on her.

Theron wasted no time in finding Merrill at the camp and filling her in on what had happened. Afterwards they quickly set out to the caves. As they made their way through the forest, they encountered darkspawn for the first time. Genlock archers began firing at them, but Theron's aim was far better than their own. Between his marksmanship and Merrill's magic they were quickly dispatched.

"What were those creatures? Were those darkspawn?" Merrill asked after the battle.

"I believe so and I'm sure that mirror had something to do with them being here." Theron replied.

"But how? Arlathan existed long before darkspawn appeared." she responded.

"I don't know Merrill, but I'm worried. Tamlen being lost was bad enough without these creatures prowling around. Let's hurry." Theron said.

"Wait. Are you alright? You look pale, maybe you should have rested longer." Merrill said in slightly anxious tone.

"I'm fine Merrill, I'll rest once we find Tamlen." he said as they set off once more. The truth was he didn't feel well. Whatever that mirror had done to him, he was still feeling the effects. As they made their way further, they encountered more darkspawn. Theron unleashed a hail of arrows as they advanced while Merrill finished them off with a jet of flames.

They eventually found the cave and made their way inside. As they ventured deeper, they encountered more darkspawn. Theron may not have been feeling his best, but it didn't reflect in his fighting. Every arrow he fired found its mark and before long the creatures were defeated. Further along they encountered another group of darkspawn, but this time there appeared to be a mage among them. "These creatures can use magic?!" Theron thought to himself incredulously. He found himself unable to ponder the thought further when the darkspawn mage began firing bolts of energy from its staff. It also began healing its allies as Merrill blasted them with her own spells. Realizing he had to end this quickly, Theron notched an arrow and took careful aim before firing a rather powerful shot that tore through the creature's neck. With the darkspawn mage down, the others quickly fell quickly and they were once again on the move.

When they finally reached the room with the mirror, they found a small group already inside. Theron recognized their faces from his dreams.

"So you're the ones who were battling the darkspawn. We thought we heard fighting. I'm surprised you're up and moving after the condition we found you in." the human with the beard said. This had to be Duncan.

"You're the grey wardens that found me and returned me to my people. You have my thanks." Theron said.

"And mine as well grey warden, I'm Merrill, our keeper's first." Merrill added.

"I'm Duncan, leader of the Ferelden grey wardens. And these are my young recruits: Daylen, Neria, Aedan, Elissa, Natia and Duran." he said as they all greeted them in turn. "Now, I'm sure your keeper didn't send you to help us. Why exactly have you come here?" Duncan asked.

"We're looking for our friend, Tamlen. He disappeared after touching that mirror and I was knocked out." Theron said.

"That is unfortunate. The wardens have encountered artifacts like this before and I'm afraid it's filled with the darkspawn taint. When your friend touched it, he must have released the taint. It's what made you sick and likely your friend as well." Duncan explained.

"I knew this mirror was trouble. We must destroy it." Theron said.

"I agree, it is a danger to everyone as long as it remains." Duncan replied.

"Why should we fear it? The keeper's magic can cure us." Merrill cut in.

"She may be able to slow it down, but she can't cure it. Even now I can sense the sickness spreading in you." Duncan responded. His companions gave an uneasy glance towards him.

"Duncan there has to be something we can do to help him." Neria said.

"There is, but first we must deal with this mirror before it causes any further calamities." Duncan said as he turned to the mirror. He then drew his sword and in one, swift movement shattered the mirror. "Now bring me to your keeper. I must speak to her regarding your cure." Duncan said. Theron nodded and they all left the cave and made their way back to the camp.

After returning, the keeper took Duncan to discuss everything that had happened. Theron found himself with the sad task of informing Paivel, the clan's storyteller, of Tamlen's likely demise. As Paivel began preparations for a funeral service for Tamlen, Theron found himself lost in thought. He hadn't even noticed Neria approach him.

"I'm sorry about your friend." she said sadly.

"Thank you, Neria. Tamlen could be brash and impulsive, but he was like a brother to me. To lose him to darkspawn, to the evil they spread, pains me." he said as he stared at the sky.

"No one should have to lose a loved one to them, that's why we're fighting. Hopefully we can prevent more tragedies like this from happening." she said quietly. Theron nodded and continued to stare into the distance.

After awhile the keeper summoned them over to her and Duncan. "Your keeper and I have come to an agreement. I am in need of as many capable recruits as possible and you require a cure. I'm hoping that you'll accompany my companions and I when we leave." Duncan said.

"Fighting darkspawn is admirable, but by your own admission I'm in no condition to aid you." Theron responded.

"It is true that the taint that now runs through your veins will eventually kill you, but joining the wardens will prevent that. Ultimately, the decision is yours." Duncan added.

Theron took a moment to look at all of Duncan's recruits including Neria. "I'll join you Duncan, I won't surrender my life to the taint or the world to darkspawn." Theron said seriously.

"Then I welcome you to the wardens. It has been a long time since a Dalish was among our ranks, but they've always served with distinction." Duncan replied.

"Come dhalen, let your clan embrace you one last time before you go." Marethari said sadly.

The entire clan gathered to see Theron off and he embraced each of them. Merrill was last and also the most upset. Theron took a moment to look at them all one final time before finally walking off with Duncan and his new companions. For awhile everyone was quiet as they made their way forward.

"Your clan obviously cares about you a lot. I'm sorry you had to leave them to come with us." Neria finally said.

Theron simply shook his head. "I made my choice Neria. I'll miss them, but I won't surrender and die to the taint. If that means pledging my life to the wardens, so be it." Theron said undeterred as he smiled at her.

"You know seven is a lucky number." Daylen said. "Unless Duncan hasn't met his quota on recruits yet." he added in a sarcastic tone.

"Funny you should mention that actually." Duncan replied. "We'll be making a brief stop in Denerim before proceeding to Ostagar. There are some supplies in our warehouse that I'd like to have sent ahead and you'll all be free to upgrade your equipment as you see fit. But I'll also be paying a visit to another old friend who may have another recruit to add to our group." Duncan added.

"I hope this friend isn't Arl Urien, I don't trust that guy." Aedan said.

"I've heard his son is a real piece of work." Elissa added.

"And neither is a friend to the wardens," Duncan interjected. "The man of whom I'm speaking is the leader of a very modest community. At any rate let's make haste." Duncan said as they began their trek to Denerim.


	11. Chapter 11: A Visit to the Alienage

Chapter 11: A Visit to the Alienage

The city of Denerim was the jewel of Ferelden, an expansive metropolis, the center of Ferelden politics and completely overwhelming to anyone who wasn't accustomed to large cities, even more so to those who weren't familiar with cities at all. Aedan and Elissa had been to Denerim many times in the past while accompanying their father. Daylen had also visited the city once or twice when he was very young, although he'd found it no more intimidating than Kirkwall. While Duran and Natia were both impressed, they were also quite acclimated to the hustle and bustle of the commons in Orzammar. But for the two elves in the group, the city proved to be quite daunting. As a member of the Dalish, Theron was more accustomed to roaming forests and wandering amongst nature. His people rarely ventured near human cities and when they did it was typically for trading which they did on the outskirts. For Neria the sights proved just as overwhelming. Unlike most elves who weren't part of the Dalish, she had not been born in nor raised in an alienage. Her parents had been farmers and thus she had grown up in the countryside, far away from any cities and even most towns. Theron was eager to hear more but at the moment they were in quite a rush. As much as they all wanted to explore, or in Theron and Neria's case, get their bearings, Duncan was quite resolute in heading straight for the warden's supply warehouse.

After arriving he allowed them all to swap out any equipment or weapons that the warehouse had improvements for. Given their background as the children of a teyrn, Aedan and Elissa were already using equipment of fairly high quality. Theron's dalish armor and scout's bow were exotic in appearance, but also of exquisite quality. While Daylen and Neria would have been happy to gain some new items, it was clear that the wardens weren't in the habit of stocking equipment for mages. Daylen was quick to make several cynical remarks to address the issue. In the end the only ones who really benefitted were the dwarven recruits. Duran secured a steel kite shield and a steel war axe. Natia swapped her leather armor with a studded set and grabbed a pair of steel daggers as well. Afterwards, Duncan made arrangements to have some supplies sent to Ostagar, which consisted mostly of consumables. Once the preparations were complete he led his recruits to the Gnawed Noble Tavern where they quickly grabbed a table and sat, while Duncan remained standing.

"Is something wrong Duncan?" Neria asked.

"No, but I will have to leave all of you for awhile. The friend I mentioned is the hahren, what we would call an elder, of the alienage here in Denerim. The residents can be quite hostile to outsiders, particularly humans. For that reason I think it would be best if I went to see him alone." Duncan explained.

"Um, Duncan?" Neria looked at him anxiously. "Would it be alright if I went with you? I've heard about alienages from some of my friends in the circle and I'd like to see one for myself. I'm an elf, so there shouldn't be any problems right?" Neria asked.

"I would also like to accompany you. I'm curious to see how our people live in these human cities." Theron added.

Duncan took a moment to consider. "Alright but I warn you, you may be disappointed with what you find." he finally said. "As for the rest of you, remain here until we return. I want no mischief from any of you." he said while his eyes lingered a moment on Daylen.

"We'll be the models of poise, etiquette, and perfect decorum." Daylen responded. Duncan released one of his groans as they left while Neria gave him an apprehensive look as she followed. "Alright ladies and gentlemen. The old man's away and Neria isn't here to nag me, so let's have some fun." Daylen said with a devilish grin.

"Is there even a remote chance I'm going to like whatever it is you're scheming?" Elissa asked.

"You will if you want me to replace that horse." Daylen responded, still grinning.

"Well I'm listening," Aedan said.

"Take a good look around. The Gnawed Noble is a breeding ground for people with too much time and sovereigns on their hands, mostly bored nobles." Daylen said.

"Go on," Natia said.

"Well, I just figured we could relieve them of their boredom and a few sovereigns." Daylen added as he pulled out a deck of cards. "So what do you say? Help me line up a few players for wicked grace and place a few bets?" Daylen asked, once again donning his grin.

"Oh, I like the way he thinks. Our wizard is quite the scoundrel." Natia laughed.

"So are you all in?" Daylen asked.

"How do we know you're any good?" Duran cut in.

"He is," the twins said in unison.

Duran looked at them all for a moment. "Fine, I'm in." he finally said.

"Alright! Aedan order us a round and ladies would you be so kind as to locate some _players_?" This was going to be a fun couple of hours Daylen thought to himself.

Sleeping peacefully in his bed in a small, but quaint house in the Denerim alienage was an elf who was about to awaken to a rather special day. His short, brown hair was quite messy at the moment and his dark brown eyes were still consumed with sleep. As he continued to snore, a familiar figure entered his room with a grin on her face.

"WAKE UP COUSIN!" she shouted after leaning in closer to him. Darrian Tabris immediately stumbled out of bed and fell flat on his face. As he stood up to regain his senses, he was greeted with the image of his cousin Shianni smiling at him. "It's about time you woke up." she said. "Today is your wedding after all, or have you forgotten?" she added. Darrian hadn't forgotten, today he and his other cousin Soris would be meeting and marrying their brides to be. He wasn't exactly excited by the prospect, but it was tradition.

"I haven't forgotten Shianni, but it's kind of hard to get excited about marrying a stranger." Darrian responded.

"That's the spirit!" Shianni said sarcastically. "Come on, don't look so depressed." she said seriously. "Your bride Nesiara has arrived early and it won't do to have you look so gloomy." she added. "I'd better talk with the other bridesmaids and find my dress. Oh and Soris is waiting for you outside, so you'd better hurry." Shianni said as she sped off.

As Darrian made his way outside his bedroom he was greeted by his father, Cyrion. "Good morning son, today is your big day. I wish your mother could have been here to see this." he said.

"Me too father, I still miss her." Darrian responded.

"So do I son, but I'm sure she's as proud of you as I am." he said with a smile.

"Well I guess I'd better go and meet Soris." Darian said a moment later.

"One more thing son. Your martial training with swords and knives that your mother taught you, perhaps it would be best not to mention that to your betrothed. We don't want people to think we're troublemakers." his father added.

"Mother was a skilled rogue wasn't she?" Darrian mused with a smile on his face.

"Adaia was special beyond words son. But I've kept you long enough, you should go and find Soris now. I'll see you at the ceremony." his father said.

Darrian found his cousin Soris waiting for him outside. "Good morning cousin, are you ready to lose our independence together?" Soris mused.

"Not really, but the guests have arrived and the gifts have been bought so I figure it's a little late to back out now." Darrian said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"I don't know why you're worried, apparently your bride is a dream come true and mine sounds more like a mouse." Soris replied. "I'm sure you're overreacting." Darrian said. "Not really. Come on, let's go introduce you to your dream girl." Soris responded before they set off.

As they made their way through the alienage they noticed their cousin Shianni and several other women being harassed by a group of humans. "Grab yourself a wench and enjoy yourselves men!" their leader laughed.

"Touch me and I'll gut you like a pig!" Shianni shouted.

"I know what you're thinking and I'm warning you, don't get involved." Soris advised.

"Shianni's in trouble and I refuse to stand here and do nothing while they abuse our women!" Darrian said angrily.

"Fine, but can you at least try to be diplomatic." Soris pleaded before they approached the scene.

"Get out of here, NOW!" Darrian shouted as he approached.

"Do you have any idea who I am scum?" the leader of the humans spat as turned to face Darrian. While his back was turned Shianni quickly grabbed a nearby bottle and struck him in the back of the head. The man dropped to the ground instantly.

"Are you insane!? This is Vaughan Urien, the Arl of Denerim's son." one of the humans explained in shock.

"Do I look like I care? Now take your pathetic master home before I decide to take my frustrations out on his bootlicking flunkies!" Darrian responded coldly.

"You've got a lot of nerve knife-ears, this will go badly for you." the man responded before he and his fellow took the unconscious Vaughan away.

"I really messed up this time." Shianni said nervously after the humans left.

"Don't worry, he'll never admit that an elven woman knocked him out." Soris said reassuringly.

"I hope so, I'd better get cleaned up." Shianni responded before leaving.

Afterwards, Darrian and Soris were approached by their brides to be. "Are you ladies alright?" Soris asked.

"I think so, just a bit shaken up." one of them replied.

"Cousin, this is my betrothed Valora." Soris said after taking the hand of the other woman.

"So you must be Nesiara." Darrian said as he looked at the first woman.

"Well I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss, Valora and I will take a walk and let you get acquainted." Soris said as he and Valora left.

"So...Are you nervous?" Nesiara asked. "I was until I saw you." Darrian admitted.

"Well that makes two of us, I have to admit I'm a bit relieved." she said as she smiled at Darrian.

After a moment of awkward silence Darrian finally spoke, "Well, I should go and find my cousin. I'm sure you ladies have a lot to do and I shouldn't keep you." he said before turning to leave.

"I'll see you at the ceremony," Nesiara called as he walked off.

After reuniting with Soris, the two cousins noticed another potential disturbance arrive in the alienage. "It's another human and he has two elves with him. We should probably go and see what this is about." Soris said. Darrian agreed and they made their way towards the unusual trio. As they got closer, Darrian was immediately struck by the somewhat odd appearance of the elves who accompanied the human. One of them was a beautiful woman with long, light blond hair and green eyes. She was also dressed in robes and carrying a staff. He quickly found himself hoping that the girl wasn't a 'servant' for the human. The other elf was even more strange. He was wearing a strange set of armor and had some unusual tattoos on his face. He had long dark hair and grey eyes that appeared way too calm considering the rough appearance of their owner. They both appeared to be examining the alienage with a mixture of curiosity and shock.

"Greetings friends, I understand congratulations are in order." the human said as they approached.

"I appreciate your civility human, but you should probably leave now before there's trouble." Darrian said frankly.

"And what kind of trouble might that be?" the human asked.

"The kind that could lead to unpleasantness for all parties involved. We've already had an incident with some noble's arrogant brat, we don't want any further trouble." Darrian said sternly.

"I'm afraid I have no intention of leaving." the human responded. "You're testing my patience human, I'll ask you one last time. Please leave." Darrian said calmly.

"He keeps his composure even when facing an unknown and armed human. A true gift, wouldn't you say Valendrian?" Darrian and Soris suddenly noticed their hahren approach.

"I would say the world has far more use of those who stay their blades. Duncan, it is good to see you again." Valendrian said as he joined the group.

"Elder, you know this human?" Darrian asked.

"Yes, this is Duncan, the leader of Ferelden's grey wardens." Valendrian explained. Darrian then looked at the two elves accompanying Duncan.

"Are they wardens as well?" he asked.

"Not quite yet, but they are two of the recruits I've gathered. This is Neria and Theron." Duncan responded. The pair then offered their greetings. After looking at them again, Darrian suddenly came to a realization.

"Are you a mage? And you, you're a dalish aren't you?" he asked, the curiosity evident in his voice.

"I am a mage, Duncan recruited me and my friend from the circle not long ago." Neria replied.

"And I am indeed a Dalish warrior, although my life is now pledged to the wardens." Theron added. Darrian was still quite stunned when Valendrian began speaking with Duncan.

"So what brings you here my friend?" he asked.

"I was hoping to find a suitable recruit, I'm going to need all the help I can get to face the darkspawn gathering in the south." Duncan explained.

"I had heard about that. But this is an awkward time, we're about to hold two weddings and there is still much to do. If it isn't too much trouble, could you and your companions await me in my home. I'd be more than happy to catch up with you after the ceremony." Valendrian said.

"Of course old friend, I'll see you then." Duncan responded before leading his group to Valendrian's house.

"Now then, the two of you should hurry to your places. The ceremony will begin soon." Valendrian said before sending them off.

Afterwards Darrian and Soris made their way to the ceremony to take their places on stage next to their brides. Unfortunately, not long after the ceremony began, trouble ensued. Vaughan had arrived with several of his men.

"Terribly sorry to interrupt, but I'm having a party and I'm desperately lacking female guests so I'll be taking yours." he laughed as his men began rounding up the girls including Shianni.

"Get your hands off me you pigs!" she shouted.

"I'm going to enjoy taming her." Vaughan said with a grin.

"You bastard!" Darrian shouted.

"Ah yes, you. The uppity runt who dared to speak to me, don't worry. I'll be sure to return whatever's left for your honeymoon." he said with a sneer.

"I'll kill you!" Darian shouted before one of Vaughan's men struck him from behind.

When Darrian awoke later, the women were gone. "Cousin, are alright?" Soris asked as Darrian got to his feet.

"I'm fine, where are the women?" Darrian asked.

"Vaughan took them all to the palace, including Shianni. Everyone's upset. The elder is talking with that grey warden, Duncan right now." Soris added.

"I'm going to speak with him too." Darrian said as he made his way towards them. There was crowd gathered around them, clearly upset by the day's events.

"Everyone please calm yourselves, I know you're upset, but there's nothing we can do right now." Valendrian said, clearly trying to avert disaster.

"Elder we have to do something, NOW." Darrian said.

"Elder, I have a suggestion. I work in the palace, I could sneak one or two people in. No one will notice a few extra elves." Someone from the crowd suggested.

"Then we're agreed. I'll go in and get Shianni and the others." Darrian said.

"I'm with you cousin, but if we get caught, there won't be any talking our way out." Soris added.

"Then allow me to lend my assistance as well." Duncan said before presenting Darrian with a dagger and longsword. "A man should be prepared to defend his loved ones." he added.

"Duncan, allow me to go with them. This depravity is unforgivable." Theron said, his serene eyes full of fire.

"I'll go too, this is terrible! How could they get away this!?" Neria added.

"Neither of you is going anywhere, as wardens we can't get involved, not directly anyway." Duncan said as he faced his recruits. "And as was mentioned before only two at the most can be snuck in, these two are familiar faces. The women being held captive will feel more at ease with them." he added. It was clear that neither of the recruits were happy, but they conceded to Duncan's points. Darrian was surprised by their willingness to help, but he knew Duncan was right. The women would be frightened enough without having strangers try to drag them away.

"Soris, let's go." he said before heading for the exit of the alienage.

After entering the palace they quickly discovered a sleeping guard. Without hesitation, Darrian slit his throat with his dagger and began looting his armor. After equipping the dead guard's armor, they proceeded further in. After entering the dining hall they were attacked by more guards who were quickly outmatched. Darrian's skill with a blade was considerable to say the least. His dagger and sword worked in tandem delivering strikes of merciless precision. After slaughtering the resistance they moved on. They continued cutting down guards until they reached a room that held a terrible scene. Laying on the floor dead was one of the kidnapped women, with several guards standing over her.

"Well that's one less knife-eared breeder. Shame, nice body on her." one of them said.

"She's still warm you know, how picky are you?" another one added.

Before they could disgrace her any further Darrian stormed the room beheading one of the guards instantly. The others hardly had time to react before another one was cut down. The final guard fared no better and was quickly put down. Darrian gave a final, pained look at the poor woman before moving ahead. As they continued tearing through guards, they eventually reached Vaughan's room where Shianni lay beaten and terrified.

"Well, well-"

But before Vaughan could finish Darrian had already closed the distance between them and stabbed him in the gut with his dagger. As he fell to the floor writhing in agony, Darrian turned his attention to the two cronies standing in the room. They were the same idiots who'd accompanied Vaughan earlier and were clearly shocked. Darrian didn't give them time to react as he severed the head of one and quickly sank his sword into the chest of the other. He turned back to Vaughan who was coughing on the floor and with one final look of disgust drove his sword through his neck.

"We should find the others." Soris said afterwards.

"Please, don't leave me alone!" Shianni pleaded.

"Soris, you check the backroom for the others." Darrian said as calmly as he could.

"Right cousin." Afterwards, he turned his attention to Shianni.

"Shianni, it's alright, I'm here." he said soothingly as he kneeled beside her.

"Are they all dead?" she asked.

"Yes," Darrian responded.

"Good, good. I just want to go home." she added, still visibly shaken. Soris returned with the other women who explained how Shianni suffered the worst while they were being saved for later.

"We're leaving, let's go." Darrian said after a few moments.

After returning to the alienage they found Duncan, his recruits and Valendrian waiting for them. The girls took Shianni home to rest while Neria went with them.

"Now tell me what exactly happened." Valendrian said after the women had left.

"I killed Vaughan and all of his men." Darrian said quietly.

"As you should have." Theron added.

"The guards are probably on their way as we speak." Duncan said.

As if on cue, the guards arrived through the front gate. "The arl's son lies dead in a river of blood and I want names, now!" guard captain announced.

"It was my doing." Darrian said as he stepped forward. "And I'd do it again too." he added.

"You expect me to believe that one man caused this level of carnage?" the captain said incredulously.

"We aren't all helpless, captain." Valendrian added.

"I respect your courage in stepping forward, but I don't envy your fate. This elf will remain in the dungeons until the arl returns." the captain said.

"Captain, if I may interrupt." Duncan said as he stepped forward. "I'm here by invoking the grey warden right of conscription and taking this prisoner into my custody." he said.

"Son of a...Alright, I have no power to stop you warden, but I'll ask that you get this elf out of the city, TODAY." he replied before taking his men and leaving.

"You're with us now, but we must leave quickly. Say your goodbyes and meet us at the gate." Duncan said calmly. Darrian turned to Soris.

"I guess this is goodbye cousin. Be safe out there and for what it's worth, I'm proud of you." Soris said as they hugged each other. Afterwards, Darrian made his way to his father.

"I can't pretend that I'm happy with how things turned out, but you're alive and that's what matters. Take care of yourself son, we'll all miss you." his father said before hugging him.

"I'll be fine father and I'll miss all of you too." Darrian said as they parted. He then made his way to their home where Shianni was waiting. Valora greeted him inside and thanked him again for rescuing her and the others before departing. Nesiara then approached him.

"We've heard you're joining the grey wardens. I guess that means there can no longer be an _us_." she said sadly.

"I'm sorry Nesiara," Darrian responded. "Don't be. I guess I'll just have to dream of what could have been. Goodbye Darrian and be safe." she said as she left the house.

Shianni was waiting in the next room with Neria. "I heard you'll be joining us. I knew Duncan wouldn't let them take you. I'll be waiting by the gate with the others. Shianni, will you be alright?" Neria asked.

"I'll be fine Neria, thank you. You're a talented healer you know that?" Shianni responded. Neria gave her a small smile before leaving.

"You took responsibility for everything, putting your life on the line. You're amazing Darrian." Darrian struggled to avert her gaze.

"If I were amazing I would have gotten to you all before those bastards murdered a girl, before..." he couldn't finish. Shianni took his hands into hers.

"You fought your way inside a palace full of guards, you saved our lives and you dealt justice to those responsible. Don't ever doubt how amazing you are." she said as her eyes met his.

"Will you be okay?" he asked.

"In time, yes. The others think Vaughan just roughed me up. I don't want them treating me like some fragile doll so please-" Darrian gently placed a hand on her face before she could finish.

"It stays between us and I'll make sure Soris understands that before I leave." he said gently. Afterwards, she hugged him and they remained that way for what seemed an eternity before Darrian finally released her. "I'd better get going now, Duncan and the others are waiting." Darrian said as he turned to leave. "Don't you dare die out there!" Shianni cried after him as he left. Having said his goodbyes, Darrian made his way to Duncan and the others and took one last look at the alienage before leaving it behind.

"We'll go to the tavern and collect the others and then leave for Ostagar." Duncan said as they headed for the Gnawed Noble.

"I hope Daylen isn't causing any trouble." Neria said nervously. As they entered the tavern, they were met with a raucous scene. Sitting at a table in the center of a crowd of rather disgruntled looking patrons was an extremely delighted Daylen. To his left was Natia who was standing on a chair holding a half empty mug of ale laughing. To his right was Aedan who also appeared rather pleased with himself as he took a drink. Both Elissa and Duran were close by counting a substantial sum of sovereigns. As Duncan cleared his throat they all quickly divided the coins and met him at the door.

"No mischief, I trust?" Duncan said sternly.

"None whatsoever," Daylen replied as the others struggled to contain their laughter. Once outside Duncan introduced them to the newest recruit.

"Good to meet you," Aedan said as he extended his hand in greeting. Darrian stood for a moment before responding.

"I'm not sure how I feel about fighting alongside humans. To be honest, I don't trust you." he said coldly as Aedan slowly retracted his hand.

"That's fair, a lot of us are assholes to be honest." Daylen cut in. "But please do us the courtesy of giving this group of humans a chance before you pass judgment." he added as he extended his own hand. Darrian looked at him for a moment before shaking it.

"Fair enough," he replied. Neria smiled and afterwards the group of warriors made their way outside the city and onward to Ostagar.


	12. Chapter 12: Arrival at Ostagar

Chapter 12: Arrival at Ostagar

Upon passing the gate that led into Ostagar, Duncan began recounting all the preparations he'd made for the fight against the darkspawn. The wardens' numbers in Ferelden were too few, that was always clear and so he'd focused on trying to make up for that by insuring that the king's army had as much support as he could muster. But now, he feared that time would no longer allow him to search for more. They'd have to make do with what they had and hope that it would be enough. Despite these concerns, he couldn't help but be pleased with himself for finding eight capable recruits for the wardens. He'd originally planned to gain three at the most from the circle, Highever and Denerim. However, both Daylen and Neria came highly recommended and he'd been able to see for himself why. The Cousland twins were also superb acquisitions, although he did regret the circumstances of their recruitment. Gaining Duran, Natia and Theron had been a fortunate blessing by fate. The alienage always had a few people of notable skill who were often overlooked and thus discovering Darrian was no surprise. He could only hope that fate would smile on him a little bit longer and see to it that they all survived the joining. As the group made their way to the bridge that led into the Ostagar camp, they were met by a pleasant surprise.

"King Cailan!" Duncan was clearly surprised by the arrival the Ferelden king.

"Greetings Duncan," the king said in a rather cheerful fashion.

"Your majesty, I wasn't expecting-"

"A royal welcome?" the king finished for him. "I was starting to think you'd miss all the fun."

"Not if I could help it your majesty." Duncan replied.

"Good then I'll have the mighty Duncan by my side in battle, glorious! The other wardens tell me you've brought eight new recruits."

"Yes your majesty, these are-"

"No need to be so formal Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together soon." the king interjected once more. "You two, might I know your names?" he asked as he looked towards Daylen and Neria.

"Daylen Amell, of the Ferelden Circle of Magi, at your service your majesty." Daylen said in a confident tone.

"And I'm Neria Surana, also from the circle." Neria added nervously.

"Excellent! We have too few mages here, more are always welcome. Amell, that name sounds familiar."

"It's a common name I'm sure." Daylen responded calmly as the twins exchanged glances.

"Hm, I suppose. Ah, these two don't need introductions. Aedan and Elissa Cousland. Your older brother Fergus is already out scouting the wilds. Strange. He made it fairly clear that your father wasn't going to be sending you two. I find it hard to believe that he would send you both and allow both of you to join the wardens."

"It's all thanks to Arl Howe your majesty." Aedan said bitterly.

"There have been some disturbing developments in Highever recently your majesty. Developments that will no doubt require your attention, I can fill you in on the details later." Duncan added.

"I see...I look forward to hearing about them." the king said curiously. "I see you've also gained some dwarven recruits. It's always a pleasure to welcome our stout and noble neighbors. What might your names be?"

Duran and Natia exchanged equally perplexed glances.

"I'm Natia, he's Duran. And thanks, I guess." Natia finally responded.

"And you there, do you hail from the alienage in Denerim?" the king asked as he faced Theron.

"My name is Theron and I am a Dalish warrior of the Sabrae clan." Theron responded proudly and with just a hint of indignation.

"Dalish? My nursemaid told be stories about them when I was a boy. I always thought they were just a legend. Well, it's good to have you here friend. I'd prefer not to make anymore foolish assumptions, so I think I'll just ask where you hail from friend." he said as he turned to Darrian.

"My name is Darrian and I DO come from the Denerim alienage." Darrian responded in a rather annoyed tone.

"Ah tell me, how are things in the alienage?"

"I don't know your majesty. Are assault and murder the new privileges of an arl's son? How about ruining a wedding by kidnapping all of the elven women for the sake of some sick depravity? It doesn't matter now anyway, seeing as how I killed the bastard responsible." Darrian responded bitterly.

The entire group with the exception of Neria, Theron and Duncan, appeared shocked by Darrian's statement.

"W-What?!" the king managed to stutter.

"The situation in Denerim's alienage is troubled to say the least your majesty." Duncan added.

"I...see. It seems we have a lot to discuss."

"Indeed. How have the battles been going? Your uncle in Redcliffe wanted to remind you that he could have his men here in a day." Duncan said.

"Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won every battle with these beasts so far and tonight will be no different. We're not even sure this is a blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas no sign of an archdemon."

"Disappointed your majesty? Duncan asked.

"I had hoped for an epic battle like in the old tales, fighting a tainted old god surrounded by darkspawn, and riding with the fabled grey wardens. But I suppose this will have to do. Well I'd better get going before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell grey wardens." the king said before departing with his guards.

"Tell me he did NOT just wish for a blight." Natia said, half shocked and half incredulous.

"That fool is the king?" Darrian asked seriously.

"I'm more disturbed by the fact that he's gotten overconfident with their victories. We saw for ourselves how massive the darkspawn movements have gotten. Getting complacent now would lead to disaster." Daylen said wisely.

"True, but I can't convince the king to alter his plans for battle based solely on our word." Duncan responded.

"Why not? He seems to have a lot respect for the grey wardens." Neria added.

"But not enough to await reinforcements from the wardens in Orlais. He believes our legend alone makes us invincible. For now we'll do what we can and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. We also have to prepare for your joining." Duncan said.

"Exactly what is this joining?" Aedan asked.

"It is a ritual that every grey warden must undertake and that is all I can tell you at the moment. For now I want all of you to head into camp. There are two other recruits already there. Once you've finished familiarizing yourself with everything, find a grey warden named Alistair and meet me at the grey warden tent." Duncan said before heading across the bridge.

"Well I guess we have a little free time, come on Neria let's find the quartermaster. I'm pretty sure I won enough sovereigns to get us some proper equipment." Daylen said before proceeding across the bridge himself followed by Neria.

The others began heading into the camp as well, exploring different areas. As Daylen and Neria walked around, Daylen eventually stopped and placed his hand on Neria's shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her suddenly.

She looked at him for a moment before collapsing into his arms, crying.

"Daylen, it was awful! How the elves live, how the arle's son treated them, how no one cared!" she cried.

Daylen held her for awhile and allowed her to vent her sorrows. He'd known it would be a bad idea to let Neria visit the alienage, but he'd also known that she'd see it for herself eventually. He never anticipated that she'd have to bear witness to such a horrible scene though. After she calmed down, Daylen pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her face.

"Not everyone lives up to the title their born with Neria, just look at me." he said with a small grin.

"I keep telling you Daylen, you're far more reliable than you let on. If all nobility were like you, Aedan and Elissa, awful things like this could never happen." she said sadly.

"As long as there are people who condescend towards elves, there will always be tragedies like that. But the reverse is true too. As long as there are people willing to take a stand, the moronic bigots of the world will never truly succeed. That and they'll probably die horrible deaths, especially if they meet me or Darrian." Daylen added with a smile.

Neria couldn't help but hug him again before they continued to the quartermaster. At first it appeared that they'd have no better luck in securing equipment than they did back in the warden's warehouse, until Daylen managed to persuade the man into showing them his 'special' stock which included some rather powerful staves and enchanted footwear. Daylen purchased them all as well as poultice ingredients and recipes. He and Neria were both skilled herbalists, so the investment was worth it. After finishing their business they proceeded to explore more of the camp when Neria caught sight of a familiar face.

"Wynne!" she yelled excitedly before bolting towards an older woman who was standing ahead of them.

Wynne was a senior enchanter at the circle and they'd heard that she had been sent to Ostagar.

"Neria my dear, what are you doing here?" the old woman asked as she and Neria embraced.

"We're on a date obviously. What could be more romantic than a darkspawn filled battlefield?" Daylen said as he approached.

"Daylen, you're here as well? And still letting your mouth run ahead of you I see." she said with a smile. "Well come here and let me get a good look at you." she added.

As soon as Daylen was within arm's reach, the elder mage began dusting him off and wiping his face. "I don't know what the two of you have been up to, but you've gotten absolutely filthy!" she said as she continued to clean him.

"Well traveling through the deep roads, ancient forests and fighting darkspawn might lead to someone getting a little dirty." Daylen responded. "Seriously Wynne, that's enough! You'll embarrass me in front of the soldiers." he added as he struggled from her grip.

"Fine, I think I've gotten most of it now." she said as she folded her arms. "Now, why don't you both explain why you're here."

Daylen and Neria spent the next few minutes telling Wynne about how they came to be grey warden recruits after passing their harrowings and about their travel to Ostagar.

"Well I'd heard that two of Duncan's recruits were from the circle. I should have assumed it would be you two. So young and already seeing and doing what most only dream of." Wynne was now looking at them fondly. "Neria have you been practicing your creation spells?" she asked.

"Please, Neria has already mastered the creation school. She's already moved on to entropy." Daylen said.

"And Daylen is a master of the elements. He's already perfecting spirit spells." Neria added.

"I'm not surprised considering how prodigious both your talents are. Neria, have you given any thought to spirit healing? You certainly have the talent for it." Wynne asked.

"I'm not sure yet Wynne, I want to perfect my other spells before I decide on any advanced magic." Neria replied.

As Neria continued speaking with Wynne, Daylen grew relieved. Not only was Wynne no longer accosting him, but Neria had cheered up considerably. He decided that it'd be best to let her catch up with Wynne for a little while longer, after all she was Neria's favorite instructor and Neria could use some cheering up right now. After excusing himself Daylen continued exploring the camp. Before long he stumbled upon some of the others in various places. Duran and Natia were listening to the tales of an ash warrior while Theron was meditating under a tree near the gate to the wilds. He eventually discovered Darrian listening to a captain's explanation of darkspawn while showing other soldiers a genlock corpse. It made sense, Darrian was the only one of them who didn't have experience fighting the creatures yet.

"Copper for your thoughts?" Daylen said as he approached.

"These creatures look vile. And by all reports there's a horde of them waiting to attack from the wilds. Meanwhile we have a fool for a king leading us and this Teyrn Loghain as a strategist. I know nothing of Loghain and I don't look forward to fighting with this many concerns." Darrian said seriously.

"Well apparently Loghain was the mastermind behind driving the Orlesians out of Ferelden thirty years ago. King Maric made him a teyrn as a reward for his service, up until then the only other teyrns were the Couslands." Daylen explained.

"Your twin friends, huh?" Darrian added in a slightly derisive tone.

"You really don't like nobles do you?" Daylen smirked.

"I'll let you know after I meet one who actually lives up to the name." Darrian replied.

Daylen thought for a moment. "You do have a good point about Loghain though, We've met the king who appears to be a naive, well intentioned-"

"Idiot," Darrian finished for him.

"Not how I would have put it, but point taken. If you want to meet Loghain, follow me." Daylen said casually.

Darrian practically did a double take once he realized what Daylen had said before following him to Teyrn Loghain's tent where they were greeted by one of his guards.

"We have an urgent matter to discuss with the teyrn concerning tonight's battle. Please get him at once!" Daylen said seriously. The guard was quick to obey before disappearing into the tent.

"You've got balls, I'll give you that." Darrian said, mildly impressed by Daylen's daring.

A moment later Teyrn Loghain himself appeared before them. "What is the-Ah you're two of Duncan's new recruits. I've heard of you. You're one the top apprentices from the Circle of Magi. Your first enchanter spoke very highly of you. And you're the warrior from the alienage in Denerim, I've heard your skills with the blade put most of our soldiers to shame. Such high achievements for ones so young." he said as he looked at them. "You know the wardens were only welcomed back into Ferelden twenty years ago by Cailan's father, Maric." he added.

Daylen and Darrian exchanged curious looks with each other.

"We hadn't heard that." Daylen admitted.

"The wardens have an honored place in our history, but Maric would have understood that it takes more than legends to win a war." he said in a slightly mocking tone.

"You don't say," Daylen responded with an equal amount of antagonism.

Loghain looked at them both a moment longer. "Well you'll have to excuse me now. I have plans to discuss with Cailan. Pray that our king is amenable to wisdom."

"And if he isn't?" Darrian added.

"Then simply pray." Loghain said before leaving.

"That didn't give me a good feeling about tonight." Daylen said as they walked away from Loghain's tent.

"If the idiot king refuses Loghain's counsel, we'll all be doomed." Darrian said angrily.

"That's not what I meant. His tone about the wardens was derisive and cunningly hidden behind a compliment. He doesn't trust us and I'd wager that he hates the fact that the king does. He's hiding something, possibly plotting." Daylen responded while contemplating. He continued his thinking as he led them to the outskirts of camp that overlooked the valley below where the battle would take place. He carefully scanned the area before finally turning to Darrian.

"Darrian listen, I need you to do me a favor..."

As Aedan and Elissa sat on a bench near a chantry priest, Elissa couldn't help but notice her brother's discomfort as he absentmindedly stroked Dog's ears. Duncan had informed the king of Howe's treachery and he was planning to take measures to punish him as soon as he returned to Denerim after the fighting with the darkspawn. But Aedan still appeared depressed.

"Even if he's stripped of his lands and his title it still won't be enough!" Aedan finally said. "Not after what that bastard did!" he added angrily.

Elissa agreed. The massacre that befell their home was unspeakable. But she also knew that that wasn't the only thing bothering her brother right now. "You're worried about how you'll explain things to Fergus." she finally said.

"How can I even begin...Elissa his wife and son are dead and it's because I failed them. How can I face him knowing that. Not to mention leaving Mother and Father." Aedan said somberly.

"You're wrong! You did everything you could and more! Fergus will understand that. He'll be hurt just like we are, but he won't blame you and you should stop blaming yourself too." she said.

"You didn't see them Elissa and I thank the maker that you didn't. That scene will haunt me forever." Aedan said quietly.

There was silence once more before Elissa spoke again. "We'll tell him together and we'll heal together. Howe didn't manage to kill us all, there are still three Couslands breathing and I for one won't give that bastard the satisfaction of breaking me." she said as she faced her brother defiantly.

Aedan looked at her for a moment before smiling. "I don't know how you do it Sis."

"Simple, I'm amazing." she said as she nudged him with her elbow.

"You and Daylen are definitely a pair that's for sure." he said before laughing.

Elissa punched him in his shoulder as she turned red. Well at least he was feeling better she thought to herself.


	13. Chapter 13: The Joining

Chapter 13: The Joining

After he and Darrian had covered the specifics of a contingency plan he'd hoped they wouldn't have to use, they went their separate ways as Darrian joined Duncan at the grey wardens tent along with the others. The grey warden known as Alistair was still missing so Daylen decided to find him. After entering the ruins of a temple in the rear of the camp, he stumbled onto an amusing exchange between a rather agitated circle mage and a warrior concerning a message from the revered mother. Daylen approached after the mage made his exit.

"Rough day?"

"Only if you happen to be another mage here to yell at me." the man responded rather wryly.

"Well I am a mage, but I'm not really in the mood for yelling, unless there's a prize involved of course." Daylen responded, clearly amused.

The man laughed before a realization struck him. "You must be one of Duncan's recruits from the Circle of Magi."

"So I'm guessing you're Alistair. Nice to finally meet you." Daylen said as he extended his hand in greeting. "So what was that business earlier about?"

"You heard that did you? I was asked by the revered mother to deliver a message to the mages. They're here by the king's request and the chantry isn't happy about it one bit. They just love to make it clear how unwelcome they are which puts me in an awkward position. You see I used to be a templar."

"Say no more, the revered mother used you as a passive aggressive way to insult the mages. The chantry is such a lovely and welcoming organization, isn't it?" Daylen said sarcastically.

Alistair laughed again. "I never should've accepted her request, but Duncan says we're all supposed to get along. I guess she didn't get the same message."

As they began making their way back to the others, Daylen couldn't help but ask about Alistair's history as a templar. He was quite open about it and explained how he'd been raised in the chantry and how Duncan recruited him before he could take his final vows.

"It's a shame really." Daylen said after he'd finished his story.

"Why?" Alistair asked.

"You would've been the first templar in the order who wasn't an ass." Daylen replied. They both laughed as they reached the others.

"You found Alistair I see." Duncan said as they approached. "Good, we can begin. That is if you're done riling up mages Alistair."

"What can I say? The revered mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt, they should put her against the darkspawn."

"She told you to sass the mage did she? We don't need to give anyone anymore ammunition to use against us."

"You're right Duncan, I apologize."

"Now then, I want all of you to get acquainted with one another. You'll soon be undertaking a rather dangerous mission and you'd do well to know who's guarding your back."

Everyone introduced themselves while Daylen met a knight by the name of Ser Jory from Redcliffe as well as a thief from Denerim named Daveth. After the introductions were complete Duncan explained how they'd all be venturing into the Korcari Wilds to obtain a vile of darkspawn blood for each recruit as well as recovering a set of ancient grey warden treaties from an old warden ruin. Afterwards, they all set out for the wilds.

They hadn't ventured far when a large pack of wolves attacked. Neria quickly paralyzed them all while Daylen summoned a massive cyclone of fire that decimated the beasts.

"Does the term overkill mean anything to you?" Elissa asked as they continued.

"Maker's breath!" Ser Jory said rather sheepishly.

"Did anyone bring a spare set of trousers? I think the human may have soiled himself." Darrian remarked.

"At this rate the rest of us won't get any exercise." Duran said, rather annoyed.

As they continued they ran across a badly wounded soldier. He identified himself as a scout that had been part of a team sent into the wilds. Unfortunately they'd been ambushed by the darkspawn and he was the only survivor. Neria healed his wounds before he made his way back to the camp.

"Did you hear that? An entire patrol of seasoned men slaughtered by darkspawn. What chance do we stand?"

"Well let's see. There's practically a dozen of us, two of us are mages and nearly all us of have experience fighting darkspawn." Daylen responded casually.

"Send the human back to camp, his cowardice sickens me." Darrian added.

"All grey wardens can sense darkspawn Ser Jory, whatever their numbers they won't get the drop on us." Alistair said reassuringly.

"You see ser knight, the darkspawn might kill us but at least we'll be warned first." Daveth added.

As they ventured deeper into the wilds, the darkspawn began showing themselves. Several genlock archers opened fire from a nearby hill as a group of hurlocks advanced on the group. Not only were the creatures outmatched, but they were also outnumbered. No sooner had the fight begun when it was all over. The rest of the skirmishes went much the same way which allowed them to collect the vials of blood they needed. Eventually they reached a bridge.

They were suddenly ambushed by a rather large group of genlock rogues while an emissary hurled spells at them from the other side of the bridge. There were also several hurlock archers on the other side of the bridge which added to the danger. Duran was about to battle the emissary when Natia stopped him.

"Wait! The whole bridge is rigged with traps!" she said frantically.

"Can you disarm them?" Daylen asked as he pummeled an attacking genlock with his staff.

"Not with those archers shooting at me!" she replied.

"Alright, Theron cover Natia while she takes out those traps. Neria help him out. Everyone else handle these vermin. I'll deal with the emissary." Daylen said as he focused his attention on the creature casting spells. He quickly activated spell might before firing a stonefist spell at the emissary. The creature was immediately knocked off its feet when Daylen followed up with a lightning spell that ended it. Meanwhile Neria summoned a sleep spell that subdued the enemy archers while Theron picked them off, amidst the struggle Natia disarmed the traps that littered the bridge. Once the last genlock was slain, everyone took a moment to catch their breath.

Once they crossed the bridge they were beset by more darkspawn, who immediately rushed them.

"I'm getting tired of this." Daylen said, clearly annoyed. He then summoned an electrical storm that utterly destroyed the opposition. Afterwards he continued forward with the others close behind.

"So how powerful is he exactly?" Aedan asked Neria as they continued towards the ruins in the distance.

"In terms of raw power, Daylen was the top apprentice. He's also kind of a genius, but don't tell him that. His ego is bad enough." Neria whispered while laughing.

"And you?" Elissa asked.

Neria simply shrugged. "I'm better at finesse, support and healing." she said.

"I thought healing magic was rare." Elissa added.

"The ability to cast a basic healing spell isn't rare but doing it effectively is. The creation school of magic is the most difficult to master, that's why healers are so rare." Neria explained.

"Wouldn't that make you a genius as well. Nearly all of the spells you use appear to be creation." Theron cut in.

Neria blushed slightly, before quickening her pace. As they began the climb to the ruins, even more darkspawn awaited them near the top of the hill.

"Give me a break!" Daylen yelled.

Neria immediately summoned several paralysis glyphs that prevented the creatures from advancing further. Theron took advantage of their immobility by firing several well aimed shots that decimated their ranks. More darkspawn appeared at their flanks and the others met them head on. A large, vicious hurlock appeared to be leading the charge. Darrian quickly engaged it, dodging a vicious swing of its greatsword and following up with a string of attacks with his dagger and long sword. The creature fell instantly as the others finished off the stragglers.

As they finally made their way into the ruins, Daylen stepped forward to retrieve the treaties. "Better let me get them. If the enchantments protecting them have become unstable it could be dangerous." he said as he began searching for the documents.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Suddenly a beautiful woman with dark hair began descending the stairs inside the ruins. "Are you a vulture I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey? What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?

"Aren't the weapons and armor a dead giveaway? We're obviously dockworkers." Daylen said sarcastically. "And exactly how are these your wilds?" Daylen added, somewhat intrigued by the mystery woman.

She then chuckled. "Because I know them as only one who owns them could. Can you claim the same? I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go,' I wondered, 'Why are they here? she said as she moved outside the ruins. "And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?

"Don't answer her. She looks Chasind and that means others may be nearby." Alistair said.

"You fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" the woman responded mockingly.

"Yes, swooping is bad." Alistair added wryly.

"She's a witch of wilds, she is! She'll turn us into toads!" Daveth said almost hysterically.

"Witch of the Wilds? Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own? You there, handsome lad. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine. Let us be civilized." the woman said as she faced Daylen.

"Be careful, she's definitely an apostate!" Neria said.

"And I don't trust her." Elissa added as she eyed the woman suspiciously.

"The lady asked for my name and I am a gentleman." Daylen responded. "I'm Daylen, a pleasure to meet you." he said confidently.

"Now that is a proper, civil greeting even here in the wilds. You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?" the woman said.

"Here no longer? You stole them, didn't you? You're...some kind of...sneaky...witch-thief!" Alistair said, clearly outraged.

"How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?" Morrigan responded.

"Quite easily it seems. Those documents are grey warden property and I suggest you return them." Alistair said.

"I will not, for twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish, I am not threatened." Morrigan responded.

"She's obviously toying with us!" Elissa said as she scowled at Morrigan.

"I suggest you tell us where those documents are, NOW!" Darrian said as he faced Morrigan.

"Both of you calm down. Morrigan was it? Would you happen to know who removed the documents?" Aedan asked.

"Twas my mother, in fact." Morrigan responded in a matter of fact tone.

"What a load. I've come up with better stories when I was drunk." Natia replied mockingly.

"No doubt to console yourself once you've discovered what you've awoken next to." Morrigan responded scathingly.

Natia quickly drew her daggers and made a beeline for Morrigan, fortunately Duran managed to grab hold of her and prevent an imminent altercation. "I'm warning you woman, I may not be able to stop her a second time!" he said as he held Natia. Morrigan merely smirked.

"Morrigan, would it be possible for you to bring us to your mother?" Daylen asked casually.

"There is a sensible request. I like you." Morrigan responded as she smiled at Daylen.

Both Neria and Elissa were now staring daggers at her. "I'd be careful. First it's 'I like you...' But then 'Zap!' Frog time." Alistair interjected.

"She'll put us all in the pot, she will. Just you watch." Daveth said, clearly terrified.

"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change." Ser Jory added.

"We aren't actually considering this are we?!" Elissa shouted.

"You could all wait here until I return." Daylen responded calmly.

"IF you return." Theron added.

"I'm not letting you go off alone with that woman!" Neria was almost livid.

"Fine, let's all go and make sure the reckless wizard doesn't get himself killed." Darrian said, mildly annoyed.

"Follow me then if it pleases you." Morrigan said casually.

Morrigan led them further into the Korcari Wilds and eventually to a small hut where an old woman awaited outside. "Greetings, Mother. I bring before you a group of grey wardens who-"

"I see them girl. Mmm, much as I expected." the old woman said.

"Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" Alistair asked.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide...either way one's a fool!" the old woman responded.

"She's a witch I tell you! We shouldn't be talking to her!" Daveth said cautiously.

"Quiet Daveth! If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad?" Ser Jory cut in.

"There is a smart lad. Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will. And what of you? Do you possess a different viewpoint? Or do you believe as the others do?" the old woman asked as she faced Daylen and the others.

"I believe you're far more than an old woman living in a swamp." Daylen said seriously.

"Asha'bellanar," Theron said simply before bowing before the old woman.

"Ah one of the people, among the wardens. Interesting." she said as she faced Theron.

"Everyone be careful, she's far more than an apostate." Neria said as she tightened her grip on her staff.

"I don't care what she is, she has something we need." Darrian said impatiently.

"They did not come to listen to your wild tales mother." Morrigan said.

"True, they came for their treaties, yes? And before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago. I have protected these." the old woman responded.

"You...oh. You protected them?" Alistair appeared rather surprised.

"And why not? Take them to your grey wardens and tell them this blight's threat is greater than they realize!" the old woman added.

"As if we didn't know that already." Duran said derisively.

"We'll be sure to pass along your message, I'm sure the wardens will be eager to hear your expert opinion!" Natia added sarcastically.

"Please excuse my friends and accept my thanks for returning the documents." Daylen said calmly.

"Such manners! Always in the last place you look. Just like stockings!" the old woman laughed. "Oh, do not mind me. You have what you came for!"

"Time for you to go then." Morrigan added casually.

"Don't be ridiculous girl. These are your guests." the old woman responded.

"Oh, very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow Me." Morrigan said.

Night had fallen when the group finally returned to camp. "Why'd you go out of your way to be polite to that witch?" Elissa fumed angrily at Daylen.

"That old woman could have killed us all if she wanted to. I don't know what her motives are, but be glad that right now her agenda included helping us." Daylen said seriously.

"I wasn't talking about the old woman!" Elissa shouted.

"Daylen, I don't trust either of them. You should be more cautious from now on." Neria added while trying to calm Elissa. "Theron what was that name you called the old woman?"

"Asha'bellanar, it means woman of many years. She is well known among my people. Those who cross her don't live to tell the tale." Theron responded seriously.

"I'd still like to plant my fist in the side of her daughter's face." Natia added angrily. "I never thought I'd meet a bigger bitch than Jarvia, especially on the surface."

"As cute as you are when you're angry, I think you should be more careful about the fights you pick." Duran chuckled.

"You don't think I could take her handsome?" Natia asked, slightly annoyed.

"I just don't want to see anything happen to that pretty face of yours." Duran added with a grin.

"Should we get the two of you a room?" Aedan chimed in before getting elbowed by Elissa and Neria.

When they returned to the grey warden's tent, Duncan awaited them by the campfire. "I see you were successful." he said as they presented him with the vials of blood and treaties.

"Can you tell us about this joining ritual now?" Aedan asked.

"I won't lie. We wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are and fate may decree that you pay yours now rather than later." Duncan said solemnly.

"You're saying this ritual could kill us?" Neria asked with a note of concern in her voice.

"It is a risk we all face." Duncan replied. "Alistair take them to the ruins of the old temple and await me there."

Later they all found themselves anxiously waiting at the ruins, each having their own thoughts preoccupying their minds. "The more I hear about this ritual, the more I don' like it?" Ser Jory said nervously.

"Are you blubbering again?" Daveth responded.

"Have I not earned my place here? Why all the damned tests?" he asked.

"Maybe it's to annoy you. Listen, the wardens do what they must to defeat the blights." Daveth replied.

"Including sacrificing us? I have a wife whose with child awaiting in Highever, had I known..." Ser Jory trailed off.

Aedan and Elissa exchanged uneasy glances at the mention of Highever. "Maybe that's why they don't warn you. Maybe you'll die, maybe we'll all die. But if no one stops the blight, everyone will die. Wouldn't you die to save your pretty wife?" Daveth asked.

"I've simply never encountered a foe that I couldn't engage with my blade." Ser Jory said nervously.

"Unbelievable, the thief has more backbone than the knight." Darrian said derisively.

"From the very beginning, when I first met Duncan in Irving's office, I knew the cost of becoming a warden would be high. And I don't have any regrets. What good is power if-"

"You can't use it to avert a catastrophe like the blight?" Neria finished for him before smiling back at Daylen. "I guess you ARE amazing after all."

"I've already pledged my life to the wardens. And I'm living on borrowed time anyway, so the risk of death is far less of an issue for me." Theron said calmly.

"Oh Theron..." Neria was now looking at the Dalish warrior with eyes filled with sorrow.

"Everything that ever mattered to me was torn away through betrayal. If death claims me now, so be it. But I won't surrender easily. I still have people to visit." Duran said bitterly.

"Hell, I had nothing to lose from the beginning. So I say bring it on!" Natia added.

"I have no intention of dying. Not before I see Howe pay." Aedan said angrily.

"That makes two us." Elissa added.

Duncan soon appeared carrying a chalice. "I've had the circle mages making preparations. In order to become grey wardens, you must all drink of darkspawn blood and master their taint." he said solemnly.

"We're going to drink the blood of those creatures?!" Ser Jory asked, clearly in shock.

"Just as we did before you and the wardens before us. This is the source of our power." Duncan responded.

"After taking in the taint we gain the ability to sense darkspawn and we can use it to slay the archdemon." Alistair added.

Duncan went on to explain how they spoke only a few words before the ritual, words that Alistair recited before Duncan summoned Daveth as the first to drink from the chalice. After drinking, he immediately began convulsing before his eyes went white and he fell to the ground dead. Before the group could recover from the shock, it was Ser Jory's turn, but he refused. He drew his sword and Duncan was forced to cut the man down. Next was Daylen's turn. Without hesitation the young mage stepped forward and drank from the chalice. Afterwards, his head was flooded with voices and visions. He saw darkspawn and a dragon. In the back of his mind he could also hear voices calling for him, the voices of his friends. As Daylen awoke on the ground, he noticed his companions in similar states around him.

"Good, you're all awake." Duncan said as they all began standing.

"Two more deaths. Only one us died in my joining, but it was horrific." Alistair said quietly. "I'm glad most of you survived."

"I have to hand it to you Duncan, you sure know how to throw a party." Daylen said as he steadied himself.

"My sodding head is killing me!" Natia said.

"Did any of you have dreams? I had terrible dreams after my joining." Alistair mentioned.

"Such dreams can be explained in time. For now, I need you all to get your bearings. King Cailan is hosting a meeting to discuss strategy for the upcoming battle and he's personally requested the presence of Daylen, Aedan, and Elissa." Duncan said.

"Why?" Daylen asked curiously.

"I don't know, but it was a personal request. When you're ready meet us at the far end of the camp." Duncan said before leaving.

"What do think this is about?" Aedan asked as he faced Daylen once the others were out of earshot.

"If I had to guess, I'd say the king wants to include the wardens of noble birth to the meeting. He must've figured out where he heard my name before. Well, this will be interesting." Daylen said as he and the twins began making their way to the meeting.


	14. Chapter 14: Battle at Ostagar

Chapter 14: Battle at Ostagar

As Daylen and the twins made their way into the war meeting, they were immediately greeted with the scene of Loghain arguing with the king in regards to allowing Orlesian wardens into Ferelden. As they approached, King Cailan was quick to greet them.

"Ah, the Cousland twins and Daylen Amell, correct? I understand congratulations are in order. You and your fellows are now grey wardens, well done. Every warden is needed now, you should be honored to join their ranks." the king said cheerfully.

"Thank you your majesty, it's an honor to serve." Daylen said politely.

"For all of us." Aedan added.

"Your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing Cailan. We must attend to reality!" Loghain added in a clearly annoyed tone.

"Fine, speak your strategy. The grey wardens and I will lure the darkspawn into charging our lines and then..." the king responded.

"You will alert the tower to light the beacon signaling my men to charge-"

"To flank the darkspawn, I remember. This is the tower of Ishal, Yes? But who shall light this beacon?" the king asked.

"I have a few men stationed there. It's not a dangerous task, but it is vital." Loghain responded.

"Then we should send our best. Send Alistair and Daylen to make sure it's done."

Daylen immediately exchanged glances with the twins before responding. "With all due respect your majesty, I think my talents would be better served on the battlefield."

"This is an important task Daylen and we must all do our part to see this battle through." Duncan said as he faced his young recruit.

"Then it's settled." the king said.

"You rely on these grey wardens too much, is that truly wise?" Loghain asked.

"Enough of your conspiracy theories Loghain, grey wardens battle the blight no matter where they're from." the king responded.

"Your majesty, you should consider the possibility of the archdemon appearing." Duncan added.

"There have been no signs of any dragons in the wilds." Loghain replied.

"Isn't that what your men are here for Duncan?" the king asked.

"I...Yes your majesty." Duncan responded rather hesitantly.

Afterwards, a mage of the circle that Daylen recognized as Senior Enchanter Uldred attempted to offer his insight.

"Your majesty, the tower and its beacon are unnecessary. The Circle of Magi-"

"Enough! We'll not trust any lives to your spells mage! Save them for the darkspawn." the revered mother interrupted, a vicious finality in her tone.

"Enough, this plan will suffice. The grey wardens will light the beacon." Loghain said.

"Thank you Loghain. I cannot wait for that glorious moment. The grey wardens battle alongside the king of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil." the king replied eagerly.

"Yes Cailan, it will be a glorious moment for us all." Loghain said after turning from the meeting.

As Daylen stared after Loghain, he was even more convinced that the man was plotting something. He could only hope that his plan to keep his friends alive would be enough. After the meeting, Duncan gathered all of his recruits and Alistair around the fire of the grey warden tent.

"You heard the plan Daylen, you and Alistair will travel to the tower of Ishal to insure that the beacon is lit." Duncan said seriously.

"What? I won't be in the battle?" Alistair asked, clearly disappointed.

"This is by the king's personal request Alistair. If the beacon is not lit, Teyrn Loghain's men won't know when to charge." Duncan replied.

"So he needs two grey wardens standing up there holding the torch, just in case right?" Alistair added wryly.

"Duncan, I agree with him. I don't like the idea of leaving you all to fight this battle while I light a damn signal. There's going to be more than darkspawn to worry about tonight." Daylen said seriously as he faced Duncan.

"That isn't your decision to make. If the king wants grey wardens at the tower, then grey wardens he'll have. We must do whatever is necessary to destroy the darkspawn, glamorous or not." Duncan responded.

"I get it. I get it. Just so you know, if the king ever asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no." Alistair said sarcastically.

"Actually that could work, maybe I'd join you. We could get a band and make sure the dresses come from Orlais so that they're the pinnacle of style. If nothing else the darkspawn would definitely be jealous." Daylen added humorously.

Duncan groaned while everyone else laughed. Daylen then turned his attention to his friends. "I guess drinks are on me after this." he said as he faced Aedan.

"At least the first round." Aedan grinned before shaking his friend's hand.

"Daylen, please be careful." Neria pleaded before hugging him.

"Seriously? You're the ones who're going to be battling an army of darkspawn." he said incredulously. "Be safe Neria." he added as he returned the hug.

"I guess we'll have to postpone our 'Who can get the highest body count' contest. by the way I'm in the lead and you owe me a sovereign." he said as he faced Duran.

"Ha! Not for long wizard, just have my coins ready." Duran responded with a chuckle.

"Natia, there are still plenty of taverns where I can set up shop. I expect my favorite female rogue to have my back when I do." he said as he looked at Natia.

"Of course! You think I'll let myself die before we finish shaking down all those deliciously easy marks?" she said with a grin.

"Theron, I can trust you with 'that' right?" he asked as he faced Theron.

"Of course. You aren't the only one who cares." Theron said plainly. The others appeared confused by the exchange but there seemed to be an understanding between the two allies.

"Darrian,-"

"Yeah, I remember so don't worry. Now hurry up and run along while we do the real fighting." Darrian said while looking at Daylen. The others were once again puzzled while Daylen kneeled down to pet Dog.

"Take good care of Elissa and Aedan, okay?" The hound barked his agreement as Daylen scratched his ears before standing and turning to Elissa.

"I haven't replaced that horse yet. So make sure you come back for it." he said before hugging her. She quietly returned the hug and they remained that way perhaps slightly longer than necessary when Duncan eventually cleared his throat. It was time for Daylen and Alistair to begin heading for the tower while the others headed to the battlefield. The battle in the valley began almost immediately as hordes of darkspawn began rushing the lines. As Daylen and Alistair crossed the bridge to the tower they quickly encountered a pair of guards.

"You! You're grey wardens right? The tower has been taken!" one of them said frantically.

"What!? What do you mean taken?" Alistair asked.

"The darkspawn dug a hole beneath the tower, they're everywhere! Nearly everyone is dead!" the man explained.

"Then we'll have to climb the tower and light the signal ourselves." Alistair responded.

The guards joined them and as they approached the tower they were quickly beset by dark spawn. Genlock archers had taken positions on top of the guard posts and were firing at them as hurlock warriors advanced. Daylen quickly raised an arcane shield to protect himself from the arrows while firing lightning bolts at the archers. He also noticed that there were scattered skirmishes going on between the remnants of the tower's guards and the attacking darkspawn. He quickly petrified and froze several of the creatures allowing the guards to gain the upper hand. As Alistair cut down the last of the Hurlocks, they proceeded further towards the tower. Even more darkspawn awaited them, and this time they were being led by an alpha hurlock. Duncan had explained several of the darkspawn types earlier, so that they would all be familiar with their ranks. Daylen attacked the creature with a crushing prison spell before incinerating several of its cohorts with a blast of flames. Alistair advanced on the archers and before long the field was clear and the path to the tower was free of enemies.

After entering the tower, one of the guards triggered a grease trap that an emissary further in was quick to take advantage of with a fireball spell. The entire side of the room where they stood was now engulfed in flames and further progress would be impossible. To make matters worse, the creature began firing spells at them from the safety of the other side of the flames.

"Damn!" Alistair shouted.

"Relax," Daylen responded as he summoned a blizzard that not only extinguished the flames, but also froze the emissary. He then fire a stonefist spell that shattered the beast and led the way in. Hurlock archers awaited them but they were quickly overwhelmed as the group proceeded onward. As they fought through further waves of darkspawn they eventually reached the stairs that led up and proceeded further. After reaching the second floor they decided to take a moment to catch their breaths.

"Maker, what are all of these darkspawn doing here? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here!" Alistair said.

"You got me, you could tell them they're in the wrong place." Daylen mused.

"Right, this is all clearly a misunderstanding. We'll laugh about this later. Anyway we'd better get going, the king is counting on us." Alistair responded.

It wasn't long before they encountered even more darkspawn who'd amassed in the center of the room. Daylen unleashed an inferno spell that engulfed the creatures and cleared the way forward where they met several smaller groups of scattered resistance who were quickly dispatched. As they made their way to the next floor, they were greeted by a rather large group of genlocks.

"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have postponed my contest with Duran!" Daylen shouted as he tore through the creatures with a blast of lightning.

"Look on the bright side, no wait there isn't one." Alistair responded as he slammed his shield into the face of an advancing genlock. Once the room was clear they proceeded to the next only to be met by an alpha genlock and several others. Daylen quickly hurled a fireball into the center of the room before noticing a group of cages to his left that housed some mabari warhounds.

"Alistair! I think our friends there would enjoy some exercise!" he yelled as he fired several bolts of lightning at some advancing genlocks.

Alistair understood immediately and threw the lever that opened the cages. There were soon several angry mabari attacking the hapless genlocks. The combined assault cleared the room quickly. They continued to fighting their way to the final set of stairs that would lead them to the top of the tower where the signal awaited.

The scene that awaited them was truly grisly. An ogre was feasting on what remained of several tower guards and quickly turned its attention to them as they approached. As it rushed at them they all dove out of its way. Daylen hurled a fireball into the creature's face, momentarily blinding it. Alistair took advantage of the opening and began slicing into the creature's tendons. The ogre roared in pain and quickly grabbed Alistair, clearly preparing to crush him. Daylen was quick to react and froze the creature's arm which led to Alistair being dropped. The creature then attempted to ram Alistair, who sidestepped and slammed his shield into the side of the beast's head. As the creature careened into the wall, Daylen hit it with a crushing prison spell so powerful, it was torn in half.

"I think we work well together." Alistair said while catching his breath.

"I wouldn't say that just yet. How are you at cards?" Daylen asked while grinning.

They suddenly noticed the signal pyre on the other side of the room. "We've surely missed the signal to light it. We'd better hurry." Alistair remarked. Daylen approached the pyre and with a wave of his hands ignited the signal. He could only hope that the others were safe.

The battle in the valley was ferocious to say the least. The king and his men were gradually being overwhelmed by darkspawn forces and the situation was growing more dire by the minute. As Neria tried to heal a wounded soldier nearby she was almost cut down by an advancing hurlock who was quickly killed by a well placed arrow to the skull. Theron approached immediately afterwards. "Neria, please be more careful. These beasts are beginning to press their advantage." he said calmly.

"I can't just leave these injured men to die!" Neria said desperately.

"I'm afraid you'll have to save your energy for what's to come." he said as eye pointed to the massive horde that was now bearing down on them. The immense number of darkspawn that were now approaching them was frightening beyond words. Nearby Duran had just killed several more of the beasts.

"Figures the wizard isn't here to see this, I could've won my coin back and then some." he said as he unleashed a flurry of strikes with his shield to an advancing hurlock before taking its head off with his war ax.

"Normally he never misses the fun!" Aedan shouted from a distance, as he too cut down an advancing hurlock.

And then they all saw it. The signal had been lit. "It's about time you slacker." Elissa said to herself as she carved a circle of death in the darkspawn lines while grinning. The fighting continued for several more minutes and then even longer. Something was wrong. The darkspawn were still advancing and soldiers left and right were getting cut down. The teyrn and his men were nowhere to be found. And then it happened. An ogre entered the scene and grabbed the king, it released one fearsome roar before crushing him and tossing his lifeless corpse to the ground.

"No!" Neria shouted before releasing a swarm of insects that ravaged the incoming darkspawn. The battle was a foregone conclusion at this point. Nearly all of the soldiers were dead. Suddenly they all heard a roar of pain and looked in the distance to see Duncan impaling the ogre that had killed King Cailan. As he brought the beast down, he collapsed to his knees, finally succumbing to his wounds. The old warrior looked around and surveyed the devastation. He could see the lit beacon of the tower in the distance as well as the figures of all of his recruits on the battlefield.

"Maker help them." he thought to himself as a hurlock advanced on him with an immense two handed ax, prepared to swing.

"Duncan!" Darrian yelled from a distance, but it was too late. He quickly dispatched the hurlocks he was fighting. "Your instincts are frightening Daylen." he said to himself before calling to the others. "We're leaving! This battle is lost! Hurry and follow me!"

Duran and Natia weren't far from his position and began retreating behind him. The others followed while Theron and Neria secured their escape. Theron fired a hail of arrows that slowed their attackers while Neria put them all to sleep and then cast waking nightmare as well. As the creatures went mad attacking one another or simply remained stunned, the group followed Darrian to a nearby chasm. In the distance they could still see the image of a lit tower signaling for reinforcements that would never come. A tower that was now clearly being overrun with darkspawn. "Daylen!" Neria whispered as she looked in the direction of the tower. Inside the chasm Darrian led them to a small cave.

"Go, hurry!" he said as he ushered them all in. "Neria, seal the entrance." he called to the rear. Neria created a small tremor that loosened a few boulders that quickly fell, sealing the entrance to the cave.

"I hope you have a good reason for having her trap us in here!" Aedan said angrily.

"We aren't trapped, fool. Now shut up and follow me, or stay here and die." Darrian responded coldly.

Aedan moved forward to confront him when Elissa grabbed his arm to stop him. As he looked at her, she simply shook her head and he decided to hold back his anger, for now. As the group made their way through the cave, Darrian eventually guided them to an exit that led back outside. As they exited the cave, emotions were running high. "What a slaughter." Duran finally said.

"I can't believe Loghain deserted the king!" Aedan said angrily.

"No surprise there, I suppose the possibility that you're fellow teyrn might betray everyone never even crossed your mind." Darrian said casually.

"You know I've had just about enough of you-"

"Enough!" Theron shouted as Aedan and Darrian began closing in on each other. "Darrian, I'm curious to know how you knew about this cave and how you seemed to have an escape plan in place. Are you telling us that you anticipated this treachery?" he asked as he faced Darrian.

Darrian was still glaring at Aedan as he spoke, "No. Earlier today, Daylen and I had a face to face meeting with Teyrn Loghain that rubbed him the wrong way. He suspected that something foul was afoot, so he searched the valley and had me investigate this cave after he located it in the chasm. I had to sneak around a bit and make sure that it led somewhere safe. If things went bad, the plan was to get all of you to safety." he explained.

"That's what he was going to mention earlier when-" Neria couldn't finish and began to quietly shed tears. Theron placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, he probably wanted to make sure I remembered. I hate to admit it, but I didn't see this coming either." Darrian said as he leaned against a tree.

"DAMN HIM!" Elissa cried. "He makes an escape plan for us, but not himself!" she shouted as her tears started to flow.

"To be fair, it sounds like he planned to be with us." Natia said quietly. Silence fell upon the group as Neria and Elissa continued to cry.

"We can't stay here." Duran finally said.

"The Imperial Highway isn't far from here, we should be able to make our way to a town or village." Darrian added.

As they began their trek, Darrian couldn't help but lose himself in thought. Daylen was the second human to whom he owed his life. He'd vowed to repay Duncan by dedicating his life to the wardens. But how could he possibly repay Daylen? It was a question that would remain in the back of his mind for many more days to come.

At the top of the Tower of Ishal, a grueling struggle was taking place, a struggle that was beginning to take its toll on the two warriors who were fighting it. Daylen and Alistair were furiously fighting wave after wave of darkspawn with no end in sight. The two tower guards who'd accompanied them had both fallen long ago and the two men had been on their own for quite awhile now. Daylen had begun relying on his staff more as he conserved his mana for healing and defense. The bolts he fired were quite powerful though, powerful enough to give lesser darkspawn pause while Alistair focused on blocking and counterattacking to save his strength. It was looking more and more like this would be their last stand, but Daylen's only concern at the moment was the fate of his friends. At that moment another wave of darkspawn entered from the stairs. Before Daylen could react, an archer fire an arrow threw his shoulder. Another one hit him as he fell to the floor. "Damn," he murmured as darkness took him.

As Daylen started to regain his senses, he became aware of a pair of hands stroking his chest. His first thought was that darkspawn were preparing to mutilate his body. But that couldn't be right, the hands caressing him right now were far too soft to belong to a darkspawn. As he opened his eyes and the world came into focus once more he noticed that he was no longer in the tower. In fact, he appeared to be in a bed and someone had dressed his wounds. "Finally awake I see." the voice came from the other side of the room. It belonged to a rather beautiful young woman with dark hair who Daylen recognized immediately.

"Morrigan, right? Where am I?" he said in a groggy voice.

"You remembered," she said as she crossed the room. "You are currently safe in my home in the wilds where I have dressed your wounds. Mother will be pleased, she has been waiting for you to awake. She was able to save you and your friend but twas a close call."

"So your mother saved us, huh? How'd she pull that off?" Daylen asked as he sat up.

"You mean you don't remember?" she asked

"I remember a never-ending siege of darkspawn and one of them getting off a lucky shot." Daylen said casually.

"Mother transformed into a giant bird and plucked you and your friend from the top of the tower, one in each claw." she said in a matter of fact tone. "If you don't believe that story, perhaps you should ask her yourself.

A thought suddenly sprang into Daylen's mind. "The battle! What happened?!" he asked.

"The man who was to answer your call quit the field, the darkspawn won your battle. Your friend is not taking it well. I suppose it would be unkind to say he is being childish." she replied.

"Those were his friends Morrigan. And mine." Daylen responded quietly. He was desperately hoping that his plan had allowed them to escape.

"And are they the sort of friends who would condone his blubbering. If so, they aren't the sort of grey wardens that the legends speak of." she responded.

There was a brief silence as Daylen pondered the fate of his friends. "Are we safe here?" he finally asked.

"For the time being, Mother's magic keeps the darkspawn away." Morrigan replied.

"I think it's about time I had a chat with her." Daylen said as he stood and began getting dressed.

"I agree, she's waiting outside with your friend." she responded.

"Oh and by the way, thank you Morrigan." Daylen said as he turned and faced her.

"I...You are welcome. Though mother did most of the work, I am no healer." she replied rather hesitantly.

Daylen smiled at her before leaving the hut. Outside, Alistair awaited him along with Morrigan's mother. "And here is your fellow grey warden now, you worry too much young man." the old woman said.

"You...You're alive. I thought you were dead for sure." Alistair said, clearly relieved.

"I'm fine, no need to worry." Daylen responded.

"This doesn't seem possible. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother we'd be dead on top of that tower." Alistair added.

"Do not speak of me as if I'm not here." the old woman responded.

"I'm sorry, but you never told us your name." Alistair said politely.

"The Chasind folk call me Flemeth, it will do." the old woman responded.

"THE Flemeth? Daveth was right, you're the Witch of the Wilds" Alistair said, clearly shocked. He had good reason to be, Daylen had read stories about the Witch of the Wilds and her daughters.

"And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic and it has served you both well has it not?" Flemeth mused.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but why did you save us?" Daylen asked.

"Well, we can't have all of the grey wardens dying at once can we? It has always been the grey wardens' duty to unite the lands against the blights, or has that changed?" she responded.

"No. It hasn't changed. Loghain's scheming may have made our job a whole lot harder, but we are wardens and we still have a job to do." Daylen said resolutely.

"Are you serious? With just the two of us?" Alistair said incredulously.

"Yes and we won't be alone for long. We still have the treaties and I'm sure there are others who won't stand for what Loghain's done." Daylen responded.

"Arle Eamon! He wasn't at Ostagar and he still has all of his men. He was Cailan's uncle and a good man, well respected at the landsmeet. We can go and appeal to him for help!" Alistair explained.

"Well there you have it, it won't be easy but our paths are clear." Daylen responded confidently.

"So are you set then? ready to be grey wardens?" Flemeth asked.

"Yes. I don't know what your motives are Flemeth but I will thank you for saving our lives." Daylen said politely.

"Such an interesting child, but there's no need to thank me. You are the grey wardens here. Now there's one, final thing I can offer you." Flemeth said as Morrigan arrived outside.

"The stew is bubbling Mother, shall I set the table for two guests or none?" Morrigan asked casually.

"The grey wardens are leaving girl and you're going with them." Flemeth said.

"Such a shame, what?" she asked, clearly surprised.

"You heard me girl. The last time I looked you had ears." Flemeth responded before laughing.

"She could be useful I suppose." Daylen said as he observed Morrigan.

"Do I not have a say in this?" Morrigan asked angrily.

"You have been itching to get out of the wilds for years. Here is your chance. As for you, wardens, consider this repayment for your lives." Flemeth responded.

"So somehow taking your beautiful, scantily clad daughter with us on a mission to end the blight and save all of Thedas is an appropriate way to repay you for saving our lives. Makes perfect sense to me." Daylen said sarcastically while Alistair stifled a laugh and Flemeth laughed openly.

"The two of you will get along quite well I think." Flemeth replied.

"Allow me to get my things." Morrigan said as she glanced at Daylen before returning to the hut. Moments later she returned with her belongings. "Before we go I'd suggest stopping in a village not far from here. It is small and we should be able to gather news without drawing attention to ourselves."

"Sounds good to me." Daylen said.

"Are we really going to bring her? Outside of the wilds, she's an apostate." Alistair said cautiously.

"We need all the help we can get Alistair and I'm certainly not going to turn down the service of another mage. Especially one this...Exotic." Daylen said as he looked at Morrigan.

"Fine. The wardens have always accepted help wherever they can get it." Alistair relented.

"I am so thrilled to get your approval!" Morrigan said sarcastically.

As they left Flemeth's hut, all Daylen could think about was the fate of his friends. He hadn't told Alistair about the possibility of the others being alive in case the worst had indeed occurred. It would be cruel to get his hopes up only to be devastated in the end and he was beginning to wonder whether that was exactly what he was doing to himself.


	15. Chapter 15: Reunion in Lothering

Chapter 15: Reunion in Lothering

As Daylen, Alistair, and Morrigan ventured across the countryside, Daylen took the opportunity to check on Alistair. He knew that the former templar was close to Duncan and that his likely death would have hit him the hardest. He also decided to learn a bit more about Morrigan, or at least what she was willing to share. Unfortunately, the discussion was cut short when a group of darkspawn appeared.

"Interrupted while chatting with a beautiful woman, figures." Daylen said before hurling a fireball at the creatures.

"I think they actually did you a favor mate." Alistair replied as he charged a hurlock.

While annoying to say the least, the confrontation would have at least one benefit. This would be their first opportunity to see Morrigan in action. The witch was quick to react with an affliction hex followed by a flurry of lightning and frost spells. Daylen was quite impressed, but what happened next completely caught him by surprise. A pair of genlocks had gotten within striking distance and for a moment it seemed like they might actually ambush her, when she suddenly transformed into a giant spider. She then sealed one the creatures in a web before quickly pouncing on the other and tearing into its neck. Afterwards she spat poison into the eyes of a hurlock that had been closing in on Daylen before finally finishing off the webbed genlock. Daylen had never seen or heard of magic like this before and was quick to approach her after the battle.

"That was...interesting. Thanks for the assist by the way." he said casually.

"You are welcome, though I doubt you actually required my assistance." she replied with a smirk.

"So that magic, I'm guessing you learned it from Flemeth?" Daylen asked.

"Yes, tis old and still practiced in the forgotten realms of Thedas." Morrigan responded.

"Can you only do animals?" he asked.

"If you are asking whether I can to take the form of other humans, the answer is no. In order to become an animal, I must first copy the creature's soul. Whereas I am already human and therefore gain nothing from such an action." she explained.

"I see." Daylen responded while contemplating.

"So, tell me what do you think of my abilities? Am I an unnatural horror that needs to be burned at the stake?" she asked sarcastically.

"Actually I think your magic could be quite useful." Daylen said seriously.

"Truly? What an unusual opinion for a mage of the circle." she said with a curious look on her face.

"Tell me, would it be possible for someone else to learn that magic?" Daylen asked.

"Is that a request?" Morrigan responded coyly.

"Yes, it is. Would the lady care to teach a lowly circle mage how to take the form of the most fearsome beasts in Thedas?" Daylen asked while smiling.

Morrigan took a moment to consider. "Very well, whenever we have free time alone I shall teach you what I know. You may even succeed." she responded with a smile.

Afterwards the trio continued towards Lothering where they'd hopefully gain some news about the battle and any possible survivors.

As Aedan, Elissa, Neria, Duran, Natia, Theron, Darrian, and Dog ventured down the imperial highway they eventually caught sight of a town in the distance. The journey had been a somber one and everyone was eager to rest and be alone with their thoughts. As they made their way towards the town, they passed a group of armed rogues who were clearly bandits. As stupid as they appeared to be, they were obviously not dumb enough to attack the group of young wardens. The outskirts of the town appeared to be flooded with refugees who were trying to escape the darkspawn. As they approached the entrance of the town, they noticed a rather harried looking farmer.

"Oh great! More refugees! Wait, you don't look like refugees. Are you soldiers?" the man asked.

"We're-" Theron began before Natia cut him off.

"Just travelers passing through." she quickly said.

"Good, with all the Chasind who keep pouring in from the wilds, Lothering can't take much more. With the bann and his soldiers gone we're on our own and have enough problems. Maker, we've got darkspawn heading this way and the king is dead because of those damn wardens, things can't get much worse." the man added.

"What?!" Aedan said incredulously.

"You hadn't heard? Teyrn Loghain came through with his soldiers spreading the news. Apparently those blasted wardens led King Cailan into a trap. Thank the maker the teyrn was able to pull his men before they claimed him too. There's a bounty on their heads now and I say good! I wish I had the steel to go after it. Anyway, I wouldn't bother trying to find a room at the tavern. It's full of refugees just like everywhere else. Good luck, I guess." the man said before departing.

"That bastard! He's blaming us!" Aedan said angrily.

"How could anyone believe this?" Elissa asked furiously.

"The teyrn is a war hero and I doubt there are any survivors left who can cast doubt on him, except for us." Neria said quietly.

"What about his own sodding men! They had to see him ignore the signal!" Natia added angrily.

"Screwed over by nobles, story of my life." Darrian said sardonically.

"What the hell are we going to do now? We can't exactly go around announcing that we're Grey Wardens and that's going to make fighting the Blight a whole lot harder." Duran added.

"The first thing we need to do is-"

"Hold on a minute, I don't remember anyone putting you in charge." Darrian cut in as he glared at Aedan.

"And exactly who else is going to take charge? You? Don't make me laugh!" Aedan responded derisively as he faced down Darrian. They had all seen this coming, the two warriors were always at each other's throats. The mess at Ostagar had only made the situation worse and without Daylen there to play peacemaker, things were about to get out of hand.

"Do you two have do this now? Don't we have enough problems?" Natia asked angrily.

"She's right, your pettiness isn't helping matters." Theron added calmly.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, so I suggest you stay out the way unless you want to join him." Aedan responded coldly. Theron's eyes flashed as he advanced toward Aedan while Neria struggled to hold the Dalish warrior back.

"Dammit, can't you idiots calm down for a moment!" Natia shouted.

"You're more than welcome to be buried along with this human once I'm done." Darrian said coldly as he glanced at Natia.

"Too far elf!" Duran had now drawn his war ax and Natia had her daggers ready.

As Elissa surveyed the rapidly deteriorating situation, she noticed Dog run off barking. "What now?" she wondered.

As Daylen, Alistair, and Morrigan made their way towards Lothering's outskirts, they were immediately approached by bandits. "Hello there friend-"

"Let's cut this short, we're in kind of a hurry. We aren't paying you a single copper and if you're wise you'll get out our way, NOW." Daylen said seriously.

It was a warning the bandits inevitably failed to heed and within moments the trio was engaged in battle. Daylen quickly released a mind blast that stunned the bandits and followed up with a barrage of lightning while Morrigan did the same. Alistair cut down the biggest and dumbest of the criminals before their leader surrendered.

"Please! I surrender! Don't Kill me!" he pleaded.

"What did I tell you? What exactly did you think would happen after picking a fight with three heavily armed strangers, two of whom are mages?" Daylen asked in a disciplinary tone.

"We're just trying to get by, make a few coins before the Blight gets here." the man said defensively. "But you're right we picked the wrong targets. Please have mercy!" he added.

"First give me everything you've stolen and maybe I'll consider letting you go." Daylen responded.

"Yes, of course! It's just shy of two sovereigns. Now please let me go." the man said as he handed over the coins as well as a rather nice ring with a minor enchantment on it.

"Start running before I change my mind." Daylen responded as he pocketed the spoils.

The man stammered his thanks before taking off in the opposite direction. The trio proceeded to the town's outskirts when a familiar bark caught Daylen's attention.

"Dog?!" Daylen shouted, clearly stunned as the hound pounced on him and began licking his face. He took a moment to return the affection before standing again. "Are the others here as well?" he asked. The hound barked in the affirmative and began leading them to the others.

The situation back at the entrance to Lothering was still volatile. Nearly everyone had their weapons drawn and at the moment they were all prepared to use them. Suddenly Elissa saw Dog returning with a familiar, and very welcome face. "DAYLEN!" she screamed as she bolted towards the mage. The mention of his name completely erased the tension that had permeated the group who were now stunned by the sight of their friend's approach. They all immediately followed Elissa to meet the man they'd thought they lost.

As Elissa leapt into his arms with tears in her eyes Daylen couldn't help but embrace her. They held each other for quite awhile before the others caught up. He finally released her and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "So...just so we're clear, you missed me right?" he said with a grin. Elissa quickly punched him in the arm before yelling at him.

"You idiot! Don't you ever do that to me again!" she said while stifling a sob.

As the others arrived more hugs and handshakes followed as they all celebrated his and Alistair's return.

"How sweet." Morrigan mused casually. At that point the others finally noticed her presence.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Elissa shouted immediately.

"It's kind of a long story. Simply put, Morrigan will be traveling with us for awhile." Daylen replied calmly.

"Give us the long version then." Elissa demanded as she eyed the witch menacingly.

So Daylen explained how he and Alistair fought their way to the top of the Tower of Ishal to light the beacon, how they faced an infinite siege of darkspawn afterwards, how they were eventually overwhelmed, how Flemeth rescued them and how they agreed to bring Morrigan along on their journey as repayment.

"Flemeth! Her mother is Flemeth! Daylen...I...You...Flemeth!" Neria was speechless.

"I don't like it. This bitch has rubbed me the wrong way from the moment we met. And I damn sure don't want her tagging along while we try to save the world from a Blight." Natia said while glaring at Morrigan.

"Don't look at me, I voted no on bringing her too. Unfortunately, Daylen talked me into it." Alsitair said defensively.

"Way to have my back Alistair." Daylen responded sarcastically. "Like I told Alistair before, we need all the allies we can get right now. Morrigan has a lot of useful skills and spells. She also knows the wilds like the back of her hand and it was her idea to come here in the first place. So you could say we owe her our reunion." Daylen added.

"And it's been such a thrill to see you all again!" Morrigan said sarcastically.

While the girls continued grumbling Theron offered his insight. "It is true that we need all the help we can get at the moment, especially now that we've been branded as traitors."

"What?" Daylen asked. The others then explained what they'd heard and also what happened during the battle.

"So Duncan and the others..." Alistair began.

"I'm afraid they all fell in battle along with the king." Theron said.

"We would have died too if it weren't for your escape plan." Aedan added.

"I'm just glad it worked, too bad it couldn't save the others as well." Daylen said regretfully. "Loghain has a lot to answer for now and he just went to the top of my shit list." he added angrily.

"So what now?" Neria asked.

"I figure we should head into town and resupply. We should also gather as much information as possible before we leave. That's what we were planning anyway." Daylen said as he motioned to Alistair and Morrigan. The others quickly agreed and Neria smiled as Daylen led the way into town. Who would have believed that just moments ago, they were all ready to kill each other. As they continued walking, a sudden thought crossed her mind. She slowed her pace so that she could speak alone with Theron in the rear.

"Theron, you weren't in on the escape plan, right? So what was Daylen referring to when he asked about trusting you with something?" she asked.

"You," he said simply. "His exact words were, 'Please look after my little sister' and I agreed." Theron explained. "I couldn't refuse such an earnest request and I have no desire to ever see you hurt either."

Neria was now blushing, Theron was always so straightforward. "Thank you Theron." she finally said while she continued to walk beside him. As the group approached the entrance to Lothering, Darrian noticed Neria's absence. He quickly turned to see her laughing with Theron.

"Figures," he thought to himself as they entered the town.

Once inside, they agreed to split into smaller groups to avoid unwanted attention while gathering more information and investigating any monetary opportunities. Daylen, the twins and Morrigan headed to the tavern to gather gossip. Duran, Natia and Alistair headed for the merchant near the entrance. Finally Theron, Neria, Darrian and Dog proceeded to the chantry to gather news.

As Daylen's group entered the tavern they were quickly greeted by a hostile group of soldiers. "Well, look what we have here men!" their leader proclaimed.

"Some of Loghain's men I'd wager." Daylen said casually.

"Good, I was looking for a chance to relieve some frustration." Elissa said after glancing at Morrigan.

"Didn't we spend all day asking about some people who match this description and no one said they saw them?" one of the soldiers asked.

"We were obviously lied to!" their leader responded angrily.

Suddenly a lovely young woman with short, red hair who was dressed in chantry robes approached the scene. "Gentleman, please. I am sure that these are no doubt more lost souls seeking refuge from the Blight." she said pleasantly.

"They're more than that sister! They're Grey Wardens and traitors to the crown!" the man yelled.

"Please Miss, we can handle this. I'd hate to see a lovely flower such as yourself get soiled by this imbecile's blood." Aedan said in a charming sort of voice.

"Nice one!" Daylen whispered while grinning at his friend.

The woman smiled at Aedan. "You may not need my help but these fools will follow their master's orders to death itself."

"Back off sister, unless you want to die with these traitors!" the man yelled.

"Blah, blah, blah. You die now." Daylen said as he fired a stonefist spell at one of the soldiers, killing him instantly. He then hit another with a crushing prison spell as Morrigan froze another.

Elissa quickly carved her way through the enemy archers while the mystery woman with red hair drew a dagger and quickly dispatched several more who appeared from a backroom. Meanwhile, Aedan fought their leader. He quickly brought the man to his knees with a few well placed shield strikes before bringing his sword to his neck. With all his men dead, the man was quick to offer surrender.

"Please, don't kill me!" the man pleaded.

"Awfully quick to change your tune once the tables have turned, aren't you?" Daylen said coldly.

"Just kill him and be done with it." Elissa added.

"Wait! He and his men were clearly no match for you. He is no longer a threat, so please spare his life." the red haired woman pleaded.

Aedan continued to face the man, fury in his eyes. "The Wardens didn't betray the king! Loghain left him do die!" he shouted.

"I was there! The wardens led the king into a trap, the teyrn could do nothing!" the man yelled back.

"You really are a fool!" Aedan said as he prepared to end the man's life.

"Please spare him! He's obviously blinded by his loyalty!" the red haired woman pleaded once more.

As Aedan began to lower his sword a flash of lightning suddenly ended the man's life. "We can't afford to be careless right now and stupidity isn't an excuse for his delusions." Daylen said as he looked at the man's body with contempt.

"Was that really necessary?" the woman asked, somewhat shocked.

"Yes." Daylen and Elissa said in unison.

"Obviously." Morrigan added.

"I appreciate what you tried to do, but their lives ended the moment they picked a fight with us." Aedan said as he sheathed his sword.

"And I know you did what you had to do, I only wish they could have been spared." the woman replied.

"So where exactly does a chantry sister learn to fight like that?" Daylen asked as he surveyed the young woman.

"I wasn't born in the Chantry you know, many of us have more colorful pasts. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Leliana one of the lay sisters of the Chantry here in Lothering. Or I was." the woman responded.

"And what exactly does that mean?" Daylen asked.

"I joined the Chantry to live a life of religious contemplation, but I am no priest, not even an initiate." Leliana replied.

"Good news for you, eh?" Daylen whispered to Aedan before being shoved.

"I'm Aedan and it's a pleasure to meet you. This is my sister Elissa, Daylen and Morrigan." Aedan said politely.

"They said you are Grey Wardens, no? I know that after what happened, you will need all the help you can get. So I'm coming along." Leliana stated.

"Awfully forward isn't she?" Daylen grinned.

"Um, please excuse my bluntness, but why are you so eager to come with us?" Aedan asked.

"The maker told me to." Leliana replied simply.

After exchanging glances with one another, Daylen broke the silence. "Right, I'm going to back away slowly now."

"I know that sounds absolutely insane, but it's true! I had a vision! Look at the despair and the darkness that is spreading. The maker doesn't want this. What you are doing now is the maker's work, so please let me help you?" Leliana pleaded.

"Alright, we won't turn away skilled help when it's offered. Especially from a beautiful woman." Aedan responded.

"Thank you, I appreciate this opportunity. I won't let you down." Leliana said gratefully.

"Are you sure about this?" Daylen asked.

"If you can bring a witch, I can bring a lay sister." Aedan responded.

"Fair enough." Daylen said as he grinned.

"Men!" Elissa sighed as they proceeded to take seats in the tavern.

After looting the bodies of the soldiers and paying for any damage to the tavern, the barkeep was more than happy to share news with the group. Apparently Loghain had appointed himself regent to aid his daughter, Queen Anora, during this time of crisis. After learning all they could stomach, they decided to head back outside. As Daylen walked ahead, he noticed a rather large cage near the exit of the town. As the group approached they saw what appeared to be a large man with bronze skin kneeling within the structure, reciting a mantra in some strange language. "If I'm not mistaken, you're a qunari. Okay, I have to know your story." Daylen said as they approached.

"Another human, I won't amuse you anymore than I have the others." the qunari responded.

"The revered mother said he slaughtered an entire family with his bare hands." Leliana said quietly.

"It is as she says." the qunari replied.

"There stands a proud and powerful creature, surely you can see a use for him." Morrigan added.

"I suppose I could, but talk about risky." Daylen said calmly.

"Consider this carefully Daylen, I mean he even admitted that he's guilty." Aedan added.

"Yeah he did." Daylen took a moment to contemplate as he stared back at the qunari. "Alright, who has the key to your cage?" Daylen asked.

"Why? What purpose would freeing me serve you?" the qunari asked.

"We're Grey Wardens and we need all the help we can get to stop the Blight." Daylen replied.

"Grey Wardens? My people have heard the legends of Grey Wardens' cunning and skill. I suppose not all legends are true." the qunari said casually.

"Antagonizing your potential rescuers, interesting strategy. Fortunately for you I've chosen not to be offended. Now who has the key?" Daylen asked again.

"The priestess of this town, though I doubt she will part with it." the qunari responded.

"You let me worry about that." Daylen said confidently before leading the group to the chantry.

Inside they met up with Theron, Neria, Darrian and Dog. After the introductions, Neria shared what they'd learned. It was mostly news about how badly things in the town were but they also learned about Arl Eamon being ill and his knights being sent on a quest to find Andraste's Ashes to cure him. Convincing the Revered Mother to release the qunari proved to be fairly easy with Leliana in their company and in no time at all Daylen returned to the cage with the key.

"Alright, her reverence agreed to release you into our custody. I hope you like fighting darkspawn because you're about to get a LOT of practice." Daylen said as he opened the cage.

"Very well, I shall follow you into the Blight and perhaps regain my honor. I am Sten of the Baresaad." the qunari said as he stepped out of the cage.

"Welcome aboard." Daylen said politely. "Between you and Leliana, we're going to have to pay a visit to a merchant and get you both properly equipped for battle."

The group made its way to the merchant near the entrance of town where they were pleasantly surprised to find that they had a discount on his wares thanks to Natia. When asked how they'd managed to pull such a thing off, Natia simply laughed, Duran shrugged and Alistair shook his head in shame. After purchasing a set of heavy chainmail for Sten and studded leather armor for Leliana the group moved on to weapons. Apparently, Sten preferred great swords and Leliana was comfortable with a bow. After getting them the weapons of their preference the group spent the rest of the day performing odd jobs around the town and completing requests on the Chanter's Board. As dusk approached they decided to leave town and find a suitable spot to set up camp. As they made their way outside of town and towards the imperial highway, they encountered a pair of dwarves who were being attacked by darkspawn. After rescuing them and finagling a reward, they became acquainted with Bodahn Feddic and his son, Sandal. They then said their goodbyes and proceeded to the wilderness, it had been a long day and they still had much to do.


	16. Chapter 16: Plotting a Course

Chapter 16: Plotting a Course

"So exactly how bad is this Arl Eamon situation?" Daylen asked as the young wardens and their allies held a meeting around their campfire. They had set up camp sometime ago and were now discussing their next course of action.

"It sounded pretty serious Daylen. The knight we met, Ser Donall, wasn't even sure whether the arl was still alive." Neria replied.

"Decisions, decisions." Daylen mused while looking over the Grey Warden treaties and a map of Ferelden.

"Perhaps I'm mistaken, but shouldn't Alistair be the one making this decision? He is the most senior warden out of those of us that remain." Theron added.

"What?! No! Listen, while I do think that Arl Eamon is our best hope of help, I'm not certain that's where we should go first. And I'm certainly no more qualified to lead than any of you. I was only a warden for six months." Alistair said adamantly.

"Which brings us back to our original issue." Aedan said.

"Which is?" Daylen asked.

"Who's going to lead us." Natia replied.

"We experienced an altercation not long before you returned." Theron said calmly.

"That's putting it mildly. Basically, we almost killed each other." Natia added.

As Daylen surveyed the group, they appeared to be slightly ashamed of themselves.

"Well I certainly hope it won't come to that again." Daylen said sternly.

"It won't, besides the decision has already been made." Elissa responded.

"Alright, so who's the lucky rookie?" Daylen asked. That's when he noticed that all eyes were on him. "No. Way. Are you all insane?" he responded seriously.

"No, we're sensible. After all, it was your plan that saved our lives and your return that put an end to the fighting." Elissa said smugly.

"You also saw through Loghain's scheming after meeting him only once." Darrian added.

"He's right Daylen, you've always been good at reading people and picking up on deception. It's why you're so good at cards." Neria chimed in.

"You also took charge when we were fighting in the wilds, you kept your cool and came up with a sound strategy in the middle of battle." Duran added.

"You were the one who held it together after Ostagar and got us moving towards a goal with the treaties and the arl. You were prepared to face this entire mess even when we believed there were only two of us left." Alistair interjected.

"You're also the only one who can keep these two from murdering each other." Natia said as she pointed at Aedan and Darrian while grinning.

"I was under the impression that you were the leader." Sten added stoically.

"Tis the obvious choice." Morrigan said in a matter of fact tone.

For once in his life, Daylen was speechless. As he looked at them all, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Listen, I appreciate the encouragement. But I'm not a leader, hell I'm the last person qualified to take this responsibility." Daylen said nervously.

"Everything that's happened up until now says otherwise. Like it or not, you are our leader." Aedan responded.

Daylen looked at the group for several minutes while he tried to process what they were entrusting him with. "Are you all sure about this? I mean this a huge decision." Daylen said hesitantly.

They all nodded their approval while smiling. Daylen was quiet for a moment before releasing a laugh. "You selfish bastards! When times get tough, let the wizard handle things." Daylen continued to laugh for a few moments. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." he added as he stopped laughing. "Well let's get back to it. First we have to decide where to secure help from first. Theron, can we count on the Dalish? Will we even be able to find them?"

"My people will honor our agreements. If we head east towards the Brecilian Forest, I can pick up the trail of one of the clans. If we speak to the keeper, there shouldn't be an issue. After all, Loghain has no influence over the Dalish." Theron replied.

"Well that's one bit of good news. I know Irving will help us, assuming the Chantry doesn't get in his way. If any mages survived Ostagar and made it back, he'll already know the truth. And even they didn't, Irving will believe us." Daylen said confidently.

"You have a lot of faith in this first enchanter." Elissa said.

"Irving taught me everything I know about magic and he's always had my back. I trust him." Daylen responded proudly. Elissa couldn't help but grin as she watched him.

"So the mages and Dalish should be the easy ones, but what about Orzammar and the dwarves?" Aedan asked.

All eyes went to Duran and Natia. "Listen Duran, I know you don't like talking about what happened down there, but you were royalty and we need to know what we're walking into." Daylen said seriously.

"He doesn't have to-"

"Natia, it's alright. Daylen is right and my presence as a warden could complicate things further. My comrades deserve to know the truth." Duran said. He went on to explain Bhelen's treachery and the circumstances of his exile. The group was stunned by the details.

"Damn. I'm really sorry I asked Duran." Daylen said after Duran finished his story.

"Your brother sounds like a real piece of work." Elissa added.

"He's a piece of something alright." Natia said as she gripped Duran's hand.

"Alright, Orzammar will definitely have to wait. We'll have to be prepared to deal with your brother and it sounds like he's bargained and backstabbed himself a lot of influence." Daylen said wisely.

The others agreed as Duran stared into the campfire. Daylen took his time to consider their next move. "We'll head to the tower first. It sounds like this will be our fastest stop and it'll give us a chance to find out whether anyone outside of us knows about the truth of what happened at Ostagar." Daylen said before dismissing the meeting.

"You and I have business, do we not?" Morrigan asked Daylen coyly as the others departed.

"Of course, I may even surprise you." Daylen said as he winked at Morrigan. They then walked off together to the outskirts of camp where Morrigan has set up her own tent and fire. The witch took the time to shoot a derisive smirk at Elissa as they went.

"Damn her!" Elissa spat.

"She's just teaching him some spells Elissa." Neria said soothingly. She knew how Elissa felt about Daylen and she herself had been apprehensive about him learning magic from Morrigan. Despite his rather valid point that blood magic was the only magic banned by the chantry and circle, she was still quite apprehensive about the issue. Daylen was of course right, shape shifting wasn't illegal and she was quite surprised when Theron mentioned that some Dalish keepers knew the art.

"Why did it have to be her?" Elissa sighed. "I'm going to bed, goodnight Neria." she said quietly before heading to her tent.

Neria was alone now, so she decided to make a few poultices in preparation for the next day. As she began working she was suddenly startled by a hand on her shoulder. "Forgive me Neria, I didn't mean to frighten you. I tend to forget how quietly I move." Theron said apologetically.

Neria released a sigh of relief. "That just means you're a superb hunter." she said while smiling at him. He then took a seat next to her while she continued to work.

"I was hoping we could talk, unless I'm disturbing you?" Theron said.

Neria quickly shook her head. "We can talk as much as you like Theron, this is second nature to me." she said, still smiling.

"You mentioned sometime ago how you grew up on a farm in the countryside. I was hoping to hear more, if that's okay." Theron said cautiously.

"Theron, it's fine. I don't mind talking about my childhood." Neria said gently.

Neria was always gentle but also forceful when necessary. It was one of the many qualities that Theron had come to admire about her. Before she could speak, Darrian arrived to give her some elfroots he'd found. It was a fairly obvious pretense that allowed him to intrude but Neria remained oblivious and thanked him before continuing.

"Let's see, how about I tell you about the first time I met a Dalish hunter." Neria said cheerfully.

"You've met Dalish before?" Darrian asked.

"Yup. My sister, Rala and I would often play near the woods of our family's farm. One day we went in and got lost. Eventually it started to get dark and we were terrified. It wasn't long before a pack of wolves surrounded us. I was sure we were going to die, but then an arrow appeared out of nowhere and killed the lead wolf. More arrows came from the darkness and eventually all of the wolves were dead. After that three Dalish hunters appeared and brought us home. My mother and father were so relieved when they saw us, they even invited them to stay for dinner. But they declined, they seemed kind of happy seeing elves live on their own though. They even invited us to join their clan, but my parents politely refused."

"Why?" Theron asked.

"My parents were just too independent. They hated cities and alienages in particular. But they didn't want to run off and join the Dalish either. They just wanted to be themselves on their own terms." Neria replied.

"I think I'd like your parents." Darrian added.

Neria smiled and Darrian suddenly felt the urge to avert her gaze. "So how exactly did you end up in the circle? It sounds like you grew up far away from the eyes of the chantry." Theron said, somewhat eager to interrupt the moment.

Neria's smile suddenly disappeared. "I was being a brat." she said sadly. "As independent as my parents tried to be, there were times when my father would have to travel to the nearest town to trade for supplies. Our farm was really small but my parents were proud of it, they'd built it themselves and it was our home. But even so, there were some things that he had to barter for to keep it up."

Neria took a moment to bottle a health poultice before continuing. "Anyway, one day I begged and pleaded with him to let me come along. Eventually he agreed and we went to town together. It was exciting at first, I'd never seen a town before or humans. My father had a friend of his look after me while he went to trade. My father's friend was a blacksmith's apprentice, which was pretty impressive for an elf apparently. He and the blacksmith were really nice and gave me sweets while I waited for my father to return."

Both Theron and Darrian knew that something tragic was about to be revealed and Theron was starting to regret asking about her past.

"Eventually, I got bored and wandered away from the shop. Not long after that I saw my father being harassed by a trio of human teenagers. He had a box of all the things he'd bought and they kept knocking it out of his hands while laughing. He'd pick everything up and they'd do it again, still laughing while calling him knife-ears. And my father had to put up with it because he was an elf. I think that was the first time I saw cruelty."

Darrian began clenching his fists in anger while Theron's eyes flashed with fury. The thought of a young and innocent Neria having to watch her father be subjected to such humiliation was enough to enrage them both.

"Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I ran at them screaming and swinging my fists. They just laughed even more and pushed me down. One of them said something vulgar and started to move towards me when my father grabbed him. That's all the excuse they needed to start beating him. I was scared, angry and I wanted them to stop. The next thing I knew they were floating in the air, they must have gone up ten or twelve feet before they came crashing down."

"Serves them right!" Darrian said angrily.

"That's what I thought when I went to my father, he seemed shocked but hugged me all the same. A crowd had started to gather, there were people who'd seen what I'd done and some were calling for my blood."

"But they conveniently ignore the assault against your father." Theron said calmly, but clearly suppressing his anger.

"A priest from the local chantry happened to join the crowd and had her templars disperse it. She said that I was the chantry's concern now and no one else's. She arranged for me to be sent to the circle that same day. Saying goodbye to my parents and Rala was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. A few days later I arrived at the tower, scared and alone. About an hour after I got there, I met Daylen. At first I tried to avoid him and all the other humans but Daylen has a way of wearing you down. And after he made me laugh for the first time, I knew I'd lost." Neria finished while grinning.

The trio was quiet for a moment before Darrian spoke. "Neria, you know we could check on your family. I'm sure they'd be glad to see you." Darrian said.

Neria simply shook her head. "My family and I stayed in contact for a month after I came to the circle. And then I stopped getting letters. Eventually I got a letter from my father's friend, apparently the townspeople formed a mob and burned down my family's farm. There weren't any survivors."

"Bastards! How can you not hate them?! Your entire family!" Darrian was furious. Theron simply took Neria's hand and gently grasped it.

"I don't hate them because I've met a lot of wonderful people over the years who happen to be human. I also have an amazing big brother who's also human. If it weren't for Daylen, the news would have destroyed me. If the world had more people like him..." Neria trailed off.

After awhile Darrian finally spoke. "I guess that's one more reason he deserves my loyalty." he said while looking at Neria.

"Indeed." Theron added while still holding Neria's hand. She couldn't help but smile as the two warriors sat beside her.

"Oh, that's getting interesting." Natia said to Duran as they watched the scene from across the camp, while browsing Bodahn's wares. Bodahn and his son had arrived at the camp several hours ago after they'd first set up. After assuring them that he hadn't been following the group and even offering to leave, he'd offered them a 'discount' on his wares. Duran was the first to question the so called bargains.

"My money's on Darrian. Women love the hot-blooded ones." Duran responded with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well mine's on Theron. Darrian is too immature. Neria doesn't need that kind of bullshit in her life." Natia added.

"Well, look who's become a big sister all of a sudden!" Duran laughed.

Natia playfully punched him. "I just happen to understand women's feelings better than a certain dwarf with lame pick up lines."

"Hmm, so if I come up with some better lines you'll finally give me a chance?" Duran asked.

Natia smiled at him coyly as she tossed her hair back. "Maybe, keep at it handsome." she said as she headed for her tent.

"Ancestors, help me." Duran said quietly as he watched her walk away.

"So what did you do before joining Lothering's cloister?" Aedan asked Leliana. He'd spent the last hour chatting with her. He had to admit, he found the woman fascinating.

"The chantry doesn't pry, so why should you?" she responded rather evasively.

"I suppose that's fair, I was just curious." Aedan said.

"It's alright, Aedan. I happened to be a minstrel, songs and tales were my life and people rewarded me with coin. And my skill in battle, well you pick up a few things when you're on the road and dealing with bandits." she said.

"A minstrel huh? Do you have any good stories?" Aedan asked eagerly.

"Of course! Stories are meant to be shared!" she said excitedly.

Leliana began to spin the most amazing tales Aedan had ever heard. Of course he'd already heard some of them, but hearing Leliana tell them made hearing them feel like a completely new experience.

"Don't you think you should warn your friend?" Morrigan asked Daylen as they finished their lesson.

"You mean about Leliana being a bard? She'll tell us when she's ready. Well, actually she'll tell HIM when she's ready." Daylen responded casually.

"And her presence doesn't concern you?" Morrigan asked.

"Not at the moment. She's obviously hiding from something or someone. As long as it doesn't get in the way of our mission, I've got no problem with her tagging along. Plus she has a useful set of skills." Daylen said in a matter of fact tone.

"You continue to surprise me little man. I am curious though, how did you figure out that she's a bard?" Morrigan asked.

"First of all drop the 'little man' title, it really is misleading. Secondly, it wasn't all that hard. She was hiding something the moment we met. The Orlesian accent, her skills in subterfuge and assassination, along with the way she moves all made it a dead giveaway." Daylen replied.

"Only to us apparently. Your merry band has much to learn it seems." Morrigan said condescendingly.

"And so do you my dear Witch of the Wilds. Goodnight." Daylen said as he departed for his tent while smiling at Morrigan. She allowed a grin to grace her face as she watched him leave.

The next morning the group met around the fire once more. Today they'd start making their way to the circle's tower and Daylen had to decide who'd be accompanying him. He'd decided that it would be wiser to travel in a smaller group just in case Loghain had eyes at Lake Calenhad. Neria was a given, she'd already made that clear. As everyone's eyes met his, he made his decision. "Alright, listen up! This is what we're going to do..."


	17. Chapter 17: A Circle in Shambles

Chapter 17: A Circle in Shambles

"Looks clear so far. Damn!" Duran said in a mildly frustrated tone.

"Don't sound so thrilled." Daylen responded sarcastically.

"I'm still pissed that you and the twins got to wipe the floor with some of Loghain's flunkies back in Lothering. Why'd I have to miss that fight?" Duran replied.

"I agree, I would have enjoyed the chance for some payback myself." Darrian added.

"Too bad boys, you missed all the fun." Elissa teased.

They were all currently descending a hill that would lead to a small pier that was located across from the tower that housed the Ferelden Circle of Magi. Daylen had decided to bring Elissa, Neria, Duran and Darrian while the others set up camp on the outskirts of the area. At the moment they were maintaining a careful lookout while traveling in case of attack by bounty hunters or more of Loghain's men.

"Anyway, that's why I brought you. If we end up in a skirmish, I want to have my favorite dwarven brawler by my side." Daylen said with a chuckle.

"Don't try sweet talking me wizard, I intend to earn my sovereign back plus double." Duran said before smiling.

"And why exactly am I here?" Darrian asked curiously.

"Well, if you want I can go back and get Theron instead. Geez, you try and do a guy a favor." Daylen said before he and Duran erupted into laughter. Elissa simply shook her head while Neria appeared to be confused. Darrian went slightly red before quickening his pace.

As they approached the pier they immediately noticed that the small boat that brought visitors to the tower was being guarded by a templar who Daylen and Neria recognized.

"Why is Carroll manning the boat?" Neria wondered aloud.

"Good question, Kester loves that boat. A little too much if you ask me. There's no way he would have willingly handed it over to Carroll." Daylen responded.

"Well, maybe we should ask him about it, he's standing right over there." Neria said as she pointed to a depressed looking fellow who was standing outside the Spoiled Princess Inn. They quickly approached the crestfallen man to gather details.

"Kester, it's been awhile." Daylen said politely.

"Hello Kester!" Neria greeted cheerfully.

"Huh? Oh, I remember you two! You both left with that Grey Warden, Duncan, awhile back. And you remembered old Kester, does my heart good." the man said as he managed a small smile.

"Kester, why is Carroll manning Lizzy?"

"Who's Lizzy?" Elissa asked curiously.

"His boat, I told you he loved it a little too much." Daylen said while grinning.

"I don't rightly know myself. One moment I'm manning the old girl as usual, the next Gregoir shows up and says 'Don't you worry Kester, We've got everything under control' and then puts Carroll in control of my boat! Something strange is going on I tell you." Kester explained while lamenting the loss of his boat.

"That doesn't sound good." Daylen said seriously. "Come on, we'd better hurry!" he added.

The group immediately made their way over to the pier and boat where Carroll awaited.

"Sorry, no one gets across. Knight Commander's orders. Wait, I remember you two. You left with that Grey Warden, fancy seeing you again." he said while his eyes lingered for a moment on Neria. Darrian was quick to step forward while clenching his fists.

"Let's skip the pleasantries Carroll, just bring us to the tower." Daylen said sternly.

Carroll simply laughed, "The Knight Commander would have my head. Sorry, but you're out of luck."

"Would you rather lose your head to Gregoir figuratively or to me literally?" Daylen asked coldly.

"We don't even need this fool, just the boat. I say we kill him and proceed with our business." Darrian added.

"Now hold on! We can work his out peacefully! You just want me to bring you across the lake to the tower right? I can do that! W-Whenever you're ready." Carroll responded, almost hysterical.

"Good, we're ready NOW." Daylen said seriously.

Several minutes later they found themselves ferried across the lake and quickly made their way inside the tower where they were met with a rather disturbing scene. There were several wounded templars and the door that led further into the tower had been barred. Not far from the entrance Daylen saw an exhausted Gregoir giving orders to his men.

"So who kicked your asses this time?" Daylen asked cynically as he and the others approached the Knight Commander.

"Oh, it's you two. Nice to see you aren't dead." Gregoir responded coldly.

"We both know you don't mean that, so let's just skip the whole pretending we like each other bit." Daylen said casually. "Now explain what's going on here."

"This situation doesn't involve you Grey Wardens." Gregoir responded.

"We're here on Grey Warden business and this place was our home for many years. Therefore it does concern us, not only as Grey Wardens but also as mages of the circle." Daylen said proudly while Neria nodded her agreement.

Gregoir looked at them both for a moment before sighing. "I will be frank, we are no longer in control of the tower. Demons and abominations appeared out of nowhere skulking the halls killing mages and templars alike. I was too complacent, that business with Jowan set a dangerous precedent. Don't think I've forgotten the role you two played in his escape." Gregoir said as he eyed Daylen and Neria.

"I figured you and your templars would have managed to catch one half-assed blood mage by now. And we only did what Irving asked of us." Daylen responded coldly.

"I suppose I can't fault you for doing what you were told. I only wish Irving had been more cautious, I should worked harder to convince him to be more vigilant." Gregoir said in a weary voice.

"So what now?" Daylen asked.

"I've sent a request to the Denerim Chantry to approve the Right of Annulment." Gregoir said solemnly.

"NO!" Neria screamed as she fell to her knees. Darrian quickly kneeled beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's the Right of Annulment?" Elissa asked.

"It gives this bastard and his men the authority and resources to purge everything in the tower." Daylen replied bitterly.

Elissa gasped in horror. "Sacrifice a thaig to save a kingdom, never an easy decision." Duran added quietly.

"You can't! There may still be survivors! You can't condemn every mage in the tower to death!" Neria shouted while Darrian helped her stand.

"Not just mages, many of my templars are still trapped inside as well. I can't risk letting the montrosities within escape. This is the only way." Gregoir said quietly.

"Have you received approval yet?" Daylen asked.

"No, but I expect to it to arrive shortly. Until then we will remain here and see to it that nothing comes through that door." Gregoir replied.

"Alright, everyone we're going in to rescue the survivors and wipe out the demons and abominations." Daylen announced.

"I assure you an abomination is a fearsome and terrifying creature and you will be facing more than one." Gregoir said, still stunned by the young mage's seemingly cavalier attitude.

"I'm way more scary than any abomination and a pissed off Elissa can put any demon to shame." Daylen said with a grin as Elissa elbowed him. "The fact is I'm not abandoning anyone to demons, abominations or the Right of Annulment. So let us in and seal the door behind us if you want, but we will be back." Daylen said confidently. Both Neria and Elissa smiled while Duran and Darrian nodded their approval.

"That confidence of yours hangs like a cloud. Very well, but know this. I will only open that door if Irving himself says that everything is alright. Assuming you succeed, I may consider pledging my men to your cause. That is your original reason for returning, I assume?" Gregoir said while facing Daylen.

That told Daylen everything he needed to know. Someone had returned and revealed the truth, why else would Gregoir make such an offer. "We have an agreement Gregoir. Alright, everyone be ready. This is going to be tense." Daylen said seriously as he faced his friends. They all drew their weapons as they followed him into the tower while the templars shut the door behind them.

The scene that met them was almost too much to bear. The bodies of templars and mages littered the hallway and dormitory floors. There were blood stains everywhere and a sense of hopelessness permeated the corridor.

"Daylen this awful! How could this have happened?" Neria said, clearly grief stricken.

"I don't know Neria, but I'm damn sure going to find out and put a stop to it." Daylen said his voice full of resolve.

As they entered a chamber further in that housed the entrance to the basement, they were greeted with the scene of several children and mages who were clearly survivors. They also quickly caught sight of Wynne as she quickly dispatched a rage demon that had entered the room.

"Wynne! Thank Goodness!" Neria shouted as she made her way to the older mage.

"Neria? Daylen? How did you get in? Why did the templars allow you to pass? she asked.

Daylen quickly explained the situation regarding the Right of Annulment, his promise to rid the tower of the forces currently wreaking havoc and the need to find Irving.

"I see, then our path is clear. We must find Irving and cleanse the tower. Once Gregoir has seen that the tower is safe, I am sure he will have his men stand down. He is not unreasonable." Wynne said.

"Wait, what do you mean WE?" Daylen asked.

"I shall accompany you. I have erected a barrier on the door that has prevented demons from coming from the other side. Before we depart, I will lower it." she replied.

"Wynne, please don't take this the wrong way but you aren't exactly a prime candidate for this kind of work." Daylen said in an uncharacteristically careful manner.

"Young man, this is not up for debate. I am more than capable of handling myself and you will need all the help you can get." she responded in disciplinary tone.

"Yes Wynne." Daylen said as Neria giggled and Elissa grinned. She'd never seen Daylen get talked down to before and the sight was quite refreshing.

"Now then, I suggest you and your friends prepare yourselves, we're about to face a great deal of danger inside." Wynne added.

Daylen then turned to face his friends. "Alright, we're about to face abominations so let's prepare accordingly."

"I've heard of these creatures, but what are they exactly?" Darrian asked.

"When a mage is possessed by a demon, an abomination is born. It has the power of a mage and the cunning of a demon. They're incredibly powerful and dangerous. All mages risk possession so we're always on guard." Neria said solemnly.

"Not to mention the fact that more powerful demons create more powerful abominations, especially if the mage is powerful." Daylen added.

"Wouldn't a powerful mage be able to resist the possession in the first place?" Elissa asked.

"Not if they willingly gave themselves to the demon." Daylen responded grimly.

"I'm a little confused here. There's simply no way every mage is as powerful as you and Neria. So I'm a little surprised this isn't more common." Elissa said curiously.

"A mage only needs to be strong enough to resist possession by a demon. The circle has a test called the Harrowing that determines whether they are or not. And there's also the Right of Tranquility which takes away a mage's magical abilities and their emotions. You either volunteer for that or it gets forced on you for doing something...well bad. But resisting demons is more about willpower than magical power." Daylen explained.

As the others considered everything that was just said Daylen turned to Neria. "I know we agreed to hold certain things back until we started to face emissaries, but..."

"I know Daylen, we don't have a choice now. Besides, they're abominations and we can't afford to hold back." Neria said resolutely. Daylen nodded his agreement before checking the room. He quickly noticed Keili who was even more of mess than usual, so he decided to avoid her. There was also a mage he didn't recognize named Kinnon who informed him of Wynne's return from Ostagar and how she informed the rest of the tower of Loghain's treachery. Daylen couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Good old Wynne," he thought to himself. As he checked in on the children, he quickly noticed a familiar face who was tending to them. "Petra?" he called.

A pretty young woman with light red hair turned and approached him. "Daylen," she said softly before hugging him. His friends were quick to notice.

"This should be good." Duran said under his breath while Elissa eyed them suspiciously.

"When we heard about Ostagar from Wynne, I didn't know what to think. But here you are with Neria, ready to face the worst the fade has to offer without batting an eyelid. The same old Daylen." She said while smiling.

"Well, you know me. I hear about demons and abominations and I come running." Daylen said humorously. He then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you and the others alright?" he asked seriously.

"As fine as can be expected given the situation. To honest, I wouldn't even be alive it weren't for Wynne." Petra said before recounting how Wynne had nearly died saving her from a demon.

"Wynne's a tough one alright. I should know, I remember when she'd catch me stealing cookies from the larder at night. I still have nightmares." Daylen said while grinning.

Petra let out a small laugh before giving Daylen a serious look. "I know she says she's okay, but please look out for her. She may be more injured than she's letting on."

"She'll be safe with us Petra, don't worry." Daylen assured her.

"I know she will, I don't know why I even asked. Now, you'd better get going. Your girlfriend has been staring daggers at me for awhile now and it's starting to give me a chill." Petra grinned before returning to the children.

Daylen quickly returned to the group and prepared to proceed into the tower. "It's nice that you got to catch up with Petra." Neria said innocently.

"Yes, so very nice." Elissa added icily.

"Um, yeah we should get going. Ready when you are Wynne." Daylen said impatiently.

Wynne quickly lowered the barrier while the others drew their weapons. Daylen activated spell might and began to radiate energy, while Neria summoned a spell wisp. The others observed them curiously.

"We've seen you use that trick before, what exactly does it do?" Elissa asked.

"It amplifies the power of my spells." Daylen replied.

"So I'm guessing yours does the same thing?" Darrian asked Neria as he observed the small ball of light circling her.

"Yes, but not as much. It's also less demanding on my mana." she responded.

As they entered first floor library, they met their first abominations. Without hesitation, Daylen released a burst of energy that instantly killed the creatures. The others were quite stunned, with the exception of Neria and Wynne.

"What the hell was that?" Duran asked.

"Templars aren't the only ones who can learn how to fight magic." Daylen said casually.

"Mana Clash. It basically kills mages unless they somehow manage to resist it. It's basically using your mana to overpower the enemy. You have be really powerful to pull it off though." Neria explained.

"And to have such mastery at your age is astounding to say the least." Wynne added.

As they proceeded further into the library they encountered even more abominations as well as a rage demon. Neria quickly summoned a glyph that appeared to prevent the creatures from casting spells while Duran and Elissa quickly cut them down. Daylen dispatched the rage demon with a frost spell and they began moving once more.

"The two of you seem to be well versed in fighting magic." Darrian commented.

"We had to be ready to face darkspawn emissaries. I never imagined we'd be using what we learned to destroy abominations in our home. Dammit!" Daylen shouted as they reached the door that led to the stairs. "I'm sorry Elissa, sorry you had see this mess." Daylen said mournfully.

"Why are you apologizing? This entire situation is beyond our control." Elissa said softly.

"I just wanted to show you where I grew up, have you meet my friends, introduce you to Irving. Having you see the worst things magic has to offer wasn't on the agenda. Especially having you see what I could become with just one slip." Daylen said quietly.

Elissa approached him and took his hands into hers. "I don't scare easily. And there's no part of you that I want kept secret. Besides, you'd never become one of these monsters. You're too strong and too stubborn." she said as she stroked his cheek. They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity before Duran cleared his throat.

"Right. Um, let's keep moving." Daylen said as he led the way to the door while Duran and Darrian chuckled and Neria smiled.

More abominations awaited them on the other side, as well as a greater rage demon. Daylen quickly destroyed everything in the room with another mana clash.

"Daylen, please be careful. I know how taxing that spell is and you won't be able to overpower everything." Neria said, clearly concerned. She knew that maintaining the aura of spell might and using mana clash was incredibly risky, even for Daylen.

"Don't worry Neria, I'll pace myself. I promise." Daylen said.

Hearing this made Elissa grow slightly concerned. She knew how reckless Daylen could be, especially when he was trying to protect other people. There was no telling how many demons and abominations were left to fight through and if he pushed himself too hard...

"Neria is right Daylen, exercise caution. If you don't, I'll consider it a worst offense than stealing a few cookies." Wynne said sternly while a small grin appeared on her face.

"I'll keep that in mind Wynne." Daylen responded in a slightly sheepish manner. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Wynne, do you know how this mess started?" he asked.

"I don't know all the details Daylen, but I am fairly certain that I know who's responsible."

Wynne responded.

"Who?" Daylen and Neria asked in unison.

"Uldred." Wynne responded simply. She went on to explain how she remained at Ostagar to tend to the wounded, how she returned to find that Uldred had nearly convinced the circle to side with Loghain and how she exposed Loghain's treachery just in time to prevent it. Apparently afterwards, Irving called a meeting to confront Uldred. Later, demons and abominations began showing up and Irving ordered Wynne to look after the children while battling a demon. That was the last she saw of him.

"So help me Uldred, if anything has happened to Irving!" Daylen was furious.

"I never liked him personally, but to think he may be responsible for something like this?" Neria said, shocked.

"Who is this 'Uldred' guy?" Darrian asked.

"A cockey, self-serving, piece of s-"

"Daylen! Language." Wynne interjected. "Uldred is or should I say was a senior enchanter here in the circle. He was always more concerned with his own personal ambitions and never bothered instructing the apprentices. To be quite honest, he was a thoroughly reprehensible human being before this calamity occurred. But my personal feelings may have perhaps blinded me to some hidden virtues he may have possessed." Wynne explained.

"And if he isn't dead by now, he will be once I find him. Let's go." Daylen said before leading the group upstairs.

After arriving on the second floor, they were greeted by Owain, the tranquil proprietor of the storeroom. "Please refrain from entering the stockroom. It is a mess and I haven't been able to get it into a state that's fit to be seen." he said in his typical monotone voice.

"Owain...What the hell?" Daylen asked, utterly dumfounded by his presence. "You do realize there are abominations and demons running around, right?"

"Of course, if they were to catch me I would surely be killed. I tried to escape earlier when the coast was clear but I encountered a barrier on a door. With no other options, I returned here to clean." Owain replied.

"Owain, you should have said something! I would have let you in." Wynne said, almost exasperated.

"I prefer it in the storeroom, it is familiar. Perhaps Niall will succeed and save us all." Owain said while he began cleaning.

"Wait! What is Niall trying to do?" Daylen asked.

"I am unsure, but he came earlier to retrieve the Littany of Adralla." Owain replied.

Neria was shocked. "But that defends against-"

"Blood magic." Wynne finished. "I was afraid of this."

The situation was really bad now. Demons and abominations were one thing, but blood mages were an entirely different threat.

Daylen turned and faced his friends. "All of you listen, I-"

"Forget it Daylen. We aren't letting you fight a bunch of blood mages by yourself." Neria cut in.

"You stupid, reckless...If you think for one second that I'll let you continue alone." Elissa was glaring at him with an intensity that could melt steel.

"Sorry, you don't get to hog all the fun this time." Duran said casually.

"The wizard has the nerve to try and send us away, that really pisses me off." Darrian added.

"Your friends are right Daylen, our chances are better if we continue together. If we can find Niall and the Littany, they'll be even better." Wynne stated wisely.

As Daylen stared at them all, he couldn't help but grin. "Well, I guess I've been outvoted. Let's get going."

"I wish you luck, I do hope that the circle can return to the way it was before." Owain said as he continued cleaning.

"That is the strangest human I've met to date." Darrian said as he looked back at Owain.

"All tranquil are like that, you get use to it I suppose." Daylen added.

"So what is this Littany exactly?" Elissa asked.

"It's an artifact that prevents mind control from blood magic." Neria replied.

"And I have a feeling we're going to need it real soon." Daylen added as they proceeded to the next room.


	18. Chapter 18: Into the Fade

Chapter 18: Into the Fade

As Daylen and the others entered the next room they quickly came face to face with their first group of blood mages. Neria was quick to react, creating a cloud of paralysis by combining her repulsion and paralysis glyphs. As the blood mages remained immobile and helpless, Daylen when to work blasting them with a flurry of spells. When the paralysis wore off, only one remained alive.

"Please, don't kill me!" she pleaded.

"You've got a lot of nerve! Look at what you've done! And now you have the audacity to beg for your life!" Daylen was beyond furious.

"I know I don't deserve mercy, but I only did this to be free. You remember what was like here, being constantly watched by the templars." she said.

"All you've done is justify it and more. Who knows how many mages will suffer now because of you." Daylen responded coldly.

"Please, Uldred has gone mad and now the rest of us-"

Daylen suddenly released a bolt of lightning that ended the blood mage's life. "Will die alongside him." he responded finishing her sentence.

"So Uldred is a blood mage. Daylen, that makes him incredibly dangerous. He was always arrogant, but he was powerful too. We'll have to be extra careful." Neria said quietly.

"I know Neria." Daylen responded calmly. It was slightly unnerving, normally Daylen would have a cocky comeback or a joke. Seeing him this focused spoke volumes about the gravity of the situation. As they continued battling further, they encountered more abominations and blood mages. Neria was relieved to see Daylen keep his promise about pacing himself. He was now only using mana clash to kill blood mages, probably to prevent them from attempting any mind control. After clearing one of the mages quarters, they were alerted to a sound from a cabinet.

"Whoever's in there, show yourself now!" Daylen shouted.

"Are the demons gone?" a voice from inside the cabinet asked.

"It's safe now, you don't have to worry." Neria responded.

A few moments later, a rather disheveled mage emerged from the cabinet. "Ah, thank the maker. My leg was starting to fall asleep. My word, look at this mess! Those demons didn't know what hit them did they? You have my eternal gratitude, wait a moment. Daylen! Oh it figures you'd be the one to come in and save the day." the man said as he tried to hug Daylen.

"I warned you about this before Godwin." Daylen said as he sidestepped the mage. "Neria's here too, and Wynne for that matter."

"Well of course my thanks is directed at them as well. Oh Daylen, it's just so good to see you. After you left to join the Wardens, the tower just wasn't the same." Godwin said somewhat sadly.

Daylen sighed while Neria giggled. "Godwin, do you know where Uldred is?" Daylen asked.

"Not a clue, I hid as soon as the demons showed up." Godwin replied.

"Alright, do yourself a favor and stay inside that cabinet. Someone will come and get you when it's safe." Daylen said in a mildly annoyed tone.

"Of course Daylen, it was great seeing you again by the way." Godwin said while smiling before climbing back into the cabinet.

"What was that all about?" Elissa asked.

"Let's just say Daylen is popular with more than just girls." Neria giggled.

"Oh, Natia is going to love this." Duran laughed.

"It's not funny, that guy just can't take a hint." Daylen said wearily. "Anyway, let's keep moving."

As they made their way to the end of the hall, they decided to check Irving's office. Unsurprisingly, they discovered it was empty. Daylen decided to search for clues and eventually discovered a locked chest. After having Darrian pick the lock, he opened it to discover an odd, black, leather bound book with a tree on the cover. The book was filled with an indecipherable text that Daylen found strange. "Well Irving, I'm guessing you didn't figure this out. Maybe I will." he said to himself as he pocketed the book. After leaving Irving's office the group made their way to the next floor.

As they made their way to the great hall, they were immediately ambushed by walking corpses. Not long afterwards, an arcane horror emerged from the next room to join the fray accompanied by even more corpses. "Damn! I'll handle that thing. Neria seal the doorway!" Daylen yelled as he burned several corpses that had gotten too close. Neria quickly cast a repulsion glyph in the doorway, which prevented anymore corpses from entering the hall. Daylen then focused his attention on the arcane horror, the creature erected a barrier as Daylen approached which he promptly dispelled before blasting it with a crushing prison spell. As the creature fell, Daylen quickly cast an inferno spell to deal with the corpses that were trapped in the other room. Eventually both rooms were clear and the group took a moment to rest while Wynne and Neria healed injuries.

"What was that thing?" Elissa asked after awhile.

"An arcane horror. It's what happens to a mage's corpse once it's possessed by a demon." Daylen said quietly.

"How many monstrosities has this Uldred lunatic let loose?!" Darrian asked indignantly.

"Your guess is as good as mine Darrian. But I'm pretty sure it only gets worse from here." Daylen said seriously.

As they proceeded further, Daylen's words proved true almost immediately as they encountered possessed templars who quickly pummeled Daylen, Neria, and Wynne with their holy smite talents. "Bastards!" Daylen mumbled as he struggled to recover from the assault. Elissa, Duran and Darrian were quick to rush to his and the other's defense. Elissa in particular carved a bloody arc around Daylen, preventing any templar incursions while he recovered. After they were all killed, Elissa rushed to Daylen.

"Are you alright?" She asked as he steadied himself on his feet.

"Yeah. The main purpose of the attack is to stun a mage so that they have time to run them through with a blade. It burns mana too. I heard about it from Alistair. I'll be fine though, don't worry." he said as he caressed her cheek.

"How are they even possessed?" Elissa asked.

"You don't have to be a mage to get possessed by a demon. Being a mage just makes you more susceptible. Demons prefer possessing mages but they'll take what they can get to get a foothold in our realm." Daylen explained. "Demon possessed templars, there is definitely a twisted irony here." Daylen said grimly.

As they continued, Daylen and the others were more careful of templar attacks. Daylen simply took the initiative by stunning the templars before they could unleash their talents on him and Neria followed suit by paralyzing them with her glyphs or putting them to sleep. This made them easy targets for Elissa, Duran, and Darrian who were quick to cut them down.

Their greatest challenge yet awaited in a room that housed an actual desire demon. The creature had charmed at least half a dozen templars into doing her bidding. Daylen was quick to act releasing a mind blast against the advancing templars, while they were stunned he then blasted the desire demon with a crushing prison spell. He then froze half of the templars as they recovered while Neria and Wynne shattered them with stonefist spells. Elissa, Duran and Darrian cut down the remaining opposition before everyone once again took a moment to rest.

"Idiots!" Daylen muttered after the battle.

"You said it yourself before Daylen, desire demons are masters at manipulating people." Neria responded.

"Silly me, expecting templars to resist one of the things they're trained to fight." Daylen replied sarcastically.

"Why was she, it, that thing naked?" Elissa asked.

"It's called a desire demon for a reason Elissa." Daylen said while concealing a small grin.

As comprehension dawned on Elissa's face, she grew slightly red before quickly turning her head. Daylen and Duran couldn't help but laugh while the group made their way to the chamber that housed the stairs leading to the next floor. Inside they discovered yet another disturbing scene, a room full of abominations and demons. In the center of the chamber three tranquil mages were being transformed by an abomination. Daylen reacted quickly, once again destroying everything in the room with a mana clash.

"Thank you, that was most unpleasant." one of the mages said after the battle in a monotone voice.

"You have my gratitude, that was a frightening experience." another added in an equally expressionless tone.

As Daylen nodded his acknowledgement, he suddenly fell to his knees. The repeated use of mana clash along with maintaining spell might were finally taking their toll.

"Daylen!" Elissa shouted as she rushed to his side.

"I'm fine, don't worry. We have to keep moving." Daylen said as he struggled to is feet.

"Like hell you are! You've been pushing yourself too far!" she said as she shouldered his weight.

Suddenly, Daylen's strength began returning to him. He could feel his mana being restored and he was able to stand on his own once again. He looked over to discover that both Neria and Wynne had cast rejuvenate and mass rejuvenation spells on him respectively.

"I had a feeling this would happen." Neria said in an exhaustive tone. "Daylen, you never listen."

"We may not be able to restore you again Daylen and bear in mind it took both of our talents to do so this time." Wynne added sternly.

"Alright, I get the picture. No more mana clash, unless it's absolutely necessary." Daylen replied.

"If we're lucky, you won't have to pull that trick of yours anymore. We've already killed a ton of these abomination things and plenty of blood mages." Duran said.

"But we still have to deal with this Uldred bastard." Darrian added in an unusually apprehensive tone.

Daylen understood that better than anyone. He knew that he wouldn't be able to simply overpower Uldred and that defeating him would take everything in his arsenal. But he couldn't afford to fail, not with so much riding on his success.

"Let's get going." he said before leading the party to the next floor.

The next floor housed the worst horrors they'd yet seen. The walls and floor were covered in grotesque, fleshy pustules that wreaked of decay. It was a nightmarish scene to say the least.

"Who needs sleep anyway?" Daylen asked cynically as they made their way forward.

"I know I won't be getting any for awhile, not after seeing all of this." Neria said quietly.

"I'll need a stiff drink for sure once we're done here." Duran added.

"Revolting." Darrian said simply.

"We cannot allow this to continue." Wynne added, clearly disturbed by the scene.

After entering a nearby room, they encountered yet another templar who'd been charmed by a desire demon. After refusing to bargain with the creature, a battle ensued. Neria quickly summoned a neutralization glyph that prevented the demon from casting spells while Daylen hit the templar with a stonefist spell. Darrian closed in on the desire demon as it moved against Neria. Without access to its magic the creature fell rather quickly to Darrian's assault. Meanwhile, Duran began laying waste to all of the undead corpses that had joined the fray while Elissa engaged the charmed templar. As each of her attacks connected she used the momentum to increase the intensity of her next strike resulting in a devastating finish to the beleaguered templar. Once again the coast was clear, for the moment.

"Is every templar in the damn tower a puppet for a desire demon?" Daylen asked angrily.

"This is getting rather pathetic." Darrian added.

"These bastards need to get laid, then crap like this wouldn't happen." Duran said calmly.

Daylen couldn't help but laugh as Neria and Elissa turned red while Darrian stared at the floor. Wynne simply cleared her throat and gave Duran a stern look that made him rather sheepish before doing the same to a still laughing Daylen.

"Ahem, well let's get back to it shall we?" Daylen said nervously as his eyes met Wynne's.

The group headed to the end of the hall to check the final room before making their way to the central chamber. Inside a blood mage and several mind controlled templars awaited. Neria once again used a neutralization glyph to prevent the enemy mage from spell casting while Darrian followed her lead and quickly killed the blood mage. Duran and Elissa cut down the advancing templars while Daylen released a mind blast to keep them off balance. After securing the room they finally entered the central chamber where they were met with a tragic and horrifying scene. Daylen and Neria's friend, Niall, was lying on the floor, motionless while a sloth demon stood over him.

"Get away from him, NOW!" Daylen roared.

"Why so impatient?" the creature mused as it faced the party. "You should take the time to relax."

Suddenly everyone's eyes started to get heavy. They were all growing drowsy under the demon's influence.

"Dammit! Fight It!" Daylen shouted, more to himself than anyone else.

"Hell of a time to feel like taking a nap." Duran said as his eyelids drooped.

"Damn you creature! I won't...I won't..." Darrian trailed off as he too grew more drowsy by the second.

"No! I must stay awake!" Neria said as she struggled to do so.

"Resist! You must resist! Or else we all perish!" Wynne said as she too struggled against the demon's influence.

Their struggles proved to be in vain as each of them fell into a slumber that could've likely been their last.

As Daylen awoke, he instantly recognized the fact that he was in the fade. "That sloth demon is going to regret screwing with me." he said aloud as he examined his surroundings. He noticed a pedestal in the distance that seemed to be acting as a portal, so he proceeded towards it. He was met by the image of Duncan that he instantly recognized as a demon in disguise and destroyed. "Seriously? How stupid do you think I am?" he muttered before proceeding to the pedestal and using it. He was teleported to an island where he was greeted by a very welcome face. Before approaching he was careful to maintain his focus, after all this could be another trick. "Niall?" he asked cautiously.

"Daylen?! What in the maker are you doing here?" he asked.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Neria appeared on the pedestal next to Daylen. She quickly distanced herself from Daylen after seeing him, remaining on her guard. Daylen couldn't help but laugh.

"That's my girl, always be cautious in the fade, no matter how hot the demon may be." Daylen said as he winked at her.

Neria looked at him for a moment before sighing. "Only the real Daylen would be goofy enough to bring that up." she said before hugging him.

"So I take it you managed to escape your would be prison of delusion." Daylen mused.

"Yes, these creatures are horrible Daylen! They'll use anything to try and trap you." she said incredulously.

"Well, yeah. They're demons Neria. Demons are assholes." Daylen said casually.

"Neria's here too? What exactly is going on?" Niall asked.

Daylen quickly explained how they came to be trapped in the sloth demon's domain while Niall explained the intricacies involved in navigating the realm and getting to the demon itself. He also explained how Uldred and his blood mages led a revolt that led to the present scenario, an event he bore witness to while attending the meeting. He further explained how Uldred summoned demons and became an abomination. Afterwards Niall had tried to stop the madness by grabbing the Littany of Adralla and gathering some friends, but they were all killed and he was trapped in the sloth demon's realm.

"Great, just great." Daylen responded after hearing the explanation. "It wasn't bad enough that he unleashed this crap, but on top of that he became an abomination as well. As if I needed another reason to kill him." he added bitterly.

"Daylen, this is really bad. Uldred being a blood mage was bad enough, but now we know he's an abomination too. We'll really have our work cut out for us." Neria said desperately.

"What do you mean? You're not actually planning to confront him are you? That's insane! There's no way out of here, I thought I made that clear." Niall said, stunned by the pair's assumption of escape.

"What you made clear was the fact that escaping will be next to impossible. Succeeding at the impossible is my specialty, so this will be a piece of cake." Daylen said confidently.

Neria simply grinned. "Niall, you should know who you're dealing with by now. Daylen never gives up and that's why he's come so far." Neria said while smiling.

Niall looked at the pair for a moment before releasing a small sigh. "Well, for whatever it's worth, good luck."

Daylen nodded at his friend before setting of with Neria to explore the different domains of the sloth demon's realm. As they explored, they encountered different dreamers who taught them how to assume different forms that allowed them to bypass barriers and obstacles that appeared to be impassable previously. This allowed them to confront the guardians employed by the sloth demon to protect the gates that led to his personal domain. After defeating the final one, they returned to the area where Niall awaited.

"I can't believe it! You actually opened the way to Sloth! Daylen, Neria...you two are really something you know that." Niall said, still shocked.

"Yeah, well we still have to find our friends and defeat Sloth to leave this place. On the plus side, assuming these different forms has really helped me get a better grasp on shapeshifting. Morrigan will be surprised." Daylen replied casually.

"And we managed to free a lot of other people who were trapped here." Neria added. "I hope everyone else is alright."

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about Wynne. She's a senior enchanter after all and a spirit healer. She has more experience dealing with spirits than anyone." Daylen said reassuringly. "And Duran's a dwarf, so...well we'll see."

"We'll see you soon Niall." Neria said cheerfully.

"After we've dealt with Uldred, let's catch up. I want to know about everything that's happened since we left, well everything not related to blood magic and abominations. We also have some friends we want you to meet." Daylen said.

"And Daylen has a special friend." Neria giggled while Daylen playfully shoved her.

Niall looked at them both with a smile and in doing so felt a warmth return to him. It was a feeling he'd believed lost long ago as he languished in the sloth demon's clutches. "Yeah...sounds good." he said quietly. "You'd better hurry while you still have the chance." he added.

Daylen and Neria nodded before setting off into the nightmare realms of each of their friends. Elissa had been trapped in a dream of her days as a child, a time when she and her brother would play with Daylen during the summers. A time before Daylen disappeared and her family was slain. Breaking her free was no easy task and in the end it was Daylen who managed to reach her. This came as no surprise to Neria who simply rolled her eyes as her two friends embraced each other. Duran surprisingly, was also trapped in a dream. A dream where he and his brothers were all alive and together, while his father continued to reign as king. It spoke volumes about Duran, who despite his insistence that he wanted Bhelen dead, clearly wanted nothing more than to have things as they were before the struggle for the throne. After freeing Duran they proceeded to Darrian's nightmare. Darrian's nightmare involved reliving the loss of his mother, an event that none of them were aware of. Unsurprisingly to everyone except for Neria, she was able to free him. Before they could proceed, they also discovered that Wynne had indeed been trapped in a nightmare as well. She was surrounded by the bodies of dead mages that she felt she'd failed. Although shocked to see one of their mentors fall prey to the denizens of the fade, Daylen and Neria were able to break her free and they all finally made it to the inner sanctum of the sloth demon.

"Such rebellious slaves." the creature mused.

"I don't suppose you could make this easier on all of us and simply die so we can be on our way? Daylen said in a cynical tone.

"But why leave? Haven't I given you everything you wanted? I'll do better this time if you just quietly return." the demon offered.

"I want to make this perfectly clear. We don't want anything you offer, now get ready. At least three of my friends are as pissed as I've ever seen them, which basically means you're f-"

"Enough! It's time I taught you mortals your place!" The demon yelled before transforming and attacking. The battle was grueling to say the least. Whenever the group managed to seemingly defeat one form that Sloth adopted, he'd immediately switch to a new one. It seemed as though the fight would never end, but Daylen could tell that the demon was weakening with every incarnation. In its final incarnation it began casting spells, starting with blizzard. Daylen quickly fired an anti-magic burst that dispelled the storm while Neria summoned a neutralization glyph. Having cut the creature off from its spells the rest of the party ruthlessly cut it down while Wynne mended injuries. After the battle was over Niall appeared.

"You did it! I knew you would!" he said happily.

"Of course we did, I told you impossible is my specialty." Daylen said while grinning.

"Listen Daylen, I need you to do me a favor. When you wake up, take the Littany from by body and use it to stop Uldred." Niall said seriously.

"What do you mean? Niall, oh no..." Neria replied somberly.

Daylen realized it at that moment as well. Sloth had been using Niall's life to fuel the nightmares of the realm.

"Niall...I should've realized sooner. I could've gotten us out of here quicker, dammit!" Daylen said angrily.

"Daylen it's alright. I know you'll do what I couldn't and save the circle. You and Neria were always meant for greater things, we all knew that. Now promise me. Promise me you'll take the Littany and set things right." Niall pleaded.

Daylen stared at his friend for several moments before responding. "I'll do it Niall. I'll take the Littany and somehow I'll stop Uldred. I swear it." Daylen's eyes were focused and unflinching, he was ready to face the unknown and throw everything he'd have against it.

"Thank you Daylen. Neria, make sure he isn't too reckless. We all how Daylen can get." Niall said as he faced Neria.

Neria simply nodded as she shed a few tears.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more Wynne. I tried so hard." Niall said sadly as he looked toward the elder mage.

"You have done more than anyone could hope for young man. Now, it's time you took a rest. Know that we will fulfill your goal and that we are all very proud of you." Wynne replied gently.

"Goodbye, Niall." Daylen said quietly. Moments later the group found themselves back inside the chamber with the corpse of the sloth demon and the body of Niall. Daylen stood and took one final look at his friend's body before taking the Littany of Adralla, as he'd promised.

His friends all stared at him as he stood quietly for several moments. "How many friends have I lost today?" there was silence after he spoke. "No more. It ends now Uldred. I hope you're ready." he said as started to radiate a familiar glow before departing the room, his friends following close behind.


	19. Chapter 19: Pride vs Pride

Chapter 19: Pride vs Pride

As the group made their way further into the tower, they all knew that the final conflict was close at hand. Daylen was clearly focused on the immense battle to come and this concerned both Neria and Elissa. He had once again activated spell might and they were both terrified that he might actually try to overpower Uldred with the mana clash spell, an action that would prove to not only be futile but also disastrously fatal. Before either of them could question him however, the party came face to face with a drake.

"Are you sodding serious?" Duran asked, completely dumfounded.

"I have grown infinitely tired of this Uldred human. He needs to die and soon." Darrian said angrily.

"No arguments here!" Daylen shouted before freezing the creature with a frost spell.

Elissa quickly followed up with a string of sword strikes that shattered the creature. Afterwards, Daylen withdrew a knife and set to work removing the creature's scales. "With any luck, I'll be able to find some use for them." he said casually after harvesting the valuable materials. As they made their way further, they were beset by dragonlings. The creatures were quite frail but also numerous. Neria put most of the beasts to sleep while the others set to work killing them. Afterwards, they all took the opportunity to make certain that there were no more approaching draconic creatures.

"What's next, a high dragon?" Duran mused.

"At this rate, I'm ready for anything." Darrian replied.

As they continued into the next hallway, they were met with the all too familiar image of abominations and demons. Neria reacted the fastest with a neutralization glyph, while Elissa and Darrian quickly closed in and unleashed a flurry of attacks. Duran stunned a rage demon with his shield before finishing it off with his war axe. Daylen had hardly any time to react before the battle was over. He could tell what his friends were attempting. Everyone was doing their best to see to it that he was well rested for the fight with Uldred. They didn't want him to exhaust himself and for that he was grateful, facing Uldred was going to take everything he had.

As they made their way towards the final room that housed the stairs that led to the harrowing chamber, both Daylen and Neria couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Even amidst the unspeakable horrors that they'd battled through, the sight of this hall was still familiar and warm.

"Feels like a lifetime ago doesn't it? Being awoken in the middle of the night and rushed to the top of the tower for our Harrowing." Daylen said while grinning at Neria.

"It really does. We've come a long way Daylen." Neria replied while grinning back at him.

"And we've still got a long way to go." Daylen said seriously as they proceeded to the room housing the stairs.

Inside they discovered a bizarre sight. Within a large, purple dome of energy was Cullen, a templar they both recognized.

"Cullen! Are you alright?" Neria asked as they approached.

"This again! You'll not break me, Andraste give me strength!" the templar shouted while folding his hands as he kneeled on the floor.

"Don't bother Neria. It's obvious the blood mages have been torturing him. At this point, he's probably lost his mind." Daylen said bracingly.

"No! Don't say that! Cullen, don't you recognize me?" Neria asked pleadingly.

"Of course I do! How deeply they must have probed to know my shame!" he replied still struggling to banish what he believed to be illusions.

"There's not much we can do for him now." Duran said quietly.

"They've clearly broken him. It's only a matter of time before madness claims him." Darrian added.

"Young man, please calm yourself. We are not illusions, so please open your eyes." Wynne said gently.

"Still here! That Always worked before. But I won't submit, I must not..." Cullen rambled after opening his eyes.

"Not to sound callous, but we don't have time for this. Uldred has to be dealt with." Daylen said seriously.

"Uldred? You're going after Uldred? Then you're real? Uldred is in the Harrowing chamber forcing mages to become abominations. The screams coming from up there are horrible." Cullen said, clearly frantic.

"Alright. Time to kill Uldred and save everyone up there. That bastard has been living way too long as it is." Daylen said angrily.

"Save?! There's no one up there left to save! They've all been tainted by demons at this point! You have to kill everything up there!" Cullen demanded.

The force and speed at which Daylen moved to face Cullen through his magical prison was indescribable. "Let's get one thing straight. I came here to save everyone that I possibly could. I'll be damned if I'm going to condemn them all to death because of one ambitious lunatic or a terrified, broken down templar. Now sit in your cage and shut up." Daylen said before turning towards the stairs.

"Are you saving anyone, really?" Cullen shouted from his prison.

"Yeah, I am." Daylen said calmly.

"Thank you Daylen." Wynne said as she smiled.

The group then proceeded to climb the stairs to Harrowing Chamber where a fearsome battle awaited. As they arrived in the chamber they witnessed Uldred transform a mage into an abomination, while Irving and several others were being held prisoner on the other side of the chamber.

"Daylen, why does he still look human?" Elissa asked curiously.

"I have a feeling Uldred willingly accepted his possession and that a pride demon was the one who came knocking." Daylen said seriously.

Neria went pale, as did Wynne. The others could tell that this was a significant fact. "Daylen, what does that mean?" Elissa asked quietly.

"Pride demons are the most powerful demons of the fade and the most dangerous. Pride abominations are rare and Thedas should be grateful for that." Daylen replied even more seriously.

"Listen to me, all of you. Wynne has the Littany and she'll be using it whenever Uldred tries any mind control or to create more abominations. No matter what, keep Wynne safe." There were already at least half a dozen of the creatures in the room and Daylen knew they'd be trouble.

"What about you? Daylen, don't you dare-"

"No arguments. I'll deal with Uldred. Everyone be ready." Daylen said before Elissa could argue.

"Hey, Uldred! You're long overdue for an ass kicking." Daylen announced as he strolled into the chamber, spell might already active.

"Daylen! Neria! What in the maker's name are you-"

Uldred quickly blasted Irving with a bolt of energy to silence him. "Look Irving, it's your favorite set of pupils. Uldred never saw anything special about them before and he still doesn't!" Uldred laughed maniacally. "But I suppose if you made it this far, you must have killed my pets."

"I hope you weren't attached to them or anything. If it's any consolation, you'll be joining them soon enough." Daylen responded as he faced down Uldred.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't struggle and accepted my gift willingly." Uldred said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Daylen replied angrily.

"A mage is merely the larval form of something greater. What you call an abomination is in fact the pinnacle of what a mage can become." Uldred responded calmly.

"You're insane!" Neria shouted.

"Uldred what you have done here is unforgivable! You may have surrendered to the demon inside you, but rest assured we will prevent you from forcing that fate on anyone else!" Wynne added.

"What they said!" Daylen shouted before hurling a fireball at Uldred.

In that split second the battle officially began. The abominations in the room quickly swarmed them. Neria erected a glyph of warding while Elissa, Duran and Darian protected her and Wynne. Meanwhile, Daylen and Uldred were exchanging spells at a furious pace. The force of their spells colliding seemed to shake the tower itself. Eventually Uldred decided to launch a fireball of his own and Daylen rushed him head-on. Before Uldred could release the ball of flame in his hands, Daylen fired his own that immediately made contact with Uldred's spell and exploded. The resulting explosion sent Uldred flying backwards and engulfed him in flames. For a moment it appeared that the battle had been decided, but then Uldred returned to his feet. He began laughing as he brushed the flames from his body.

"It's time you learned, child." Uldred said in between laughs. He then began transforming until the monstrous form of a pride demon stood before Daylen and the others. The creature immediately attempted to take possession of the captive mages, but Wynne quickly halted his attempt with the Littany. The others were still furiously battling the abominations that had swarmed them, they appeared to be far stronger than the previous incarnations they'd battled. Once again Daylen found himself facing down Uldred.

Moments later Uldred released an anti-magic burst that dispelled Daylen's spell might. He then hit Daylen with a mana drain spell as he quickly advanced on him. The creature's speed defied its sized and nearly caught Daylen off guard. As it neared Daylen, it quickly tore into him with one of its immense claws. Daylen reacted almost instantly by casting rock armor and guarding with his staff. He was able to minimize the damage, but he was still left with a substantial injury. The force of the attack also sent him flying across the chamber and completely shredded the robes on his torso.

"DAYLEN!" Elissa screamed from across the room.

Uldred took one look at her before hitting her with a crushing prison spell. "NO!" Daylen yelled as he quickly used dispel magic to free her. Neria immediately began healing her, but this left the others at a considerable disadvantage against the mob of abominations. They'd managed to kill two of them but were still being pushed to their limit.

Uldred once again began an attempt to create an abomination and Wynne was ready with the Littany. While he was distracted, Daylen quickly trapped Uldred inside a force field. "Kill as many as you can while I'm holding him!" Daylen shouted to his friends. He knew that the force field wouldn't last long and once Uldred was free he'd be ready to counterattack. Sure enough, the moment the force field wore off Uldred unleashed a blast of lightning at Daylen. Daylen quickly erected a spell shield that absorbed the attack before countering with a blast of flames. The attack caused barely any damage, but that hadn't been Daylen's goal. While Uldred was distracted with the flames, Daylen activated spell might once more and unleashed a barrage of arcane bolts. He added to the attack by firing numerous shots from his staff. At this point Daylen had not only mastered using a staff, but also maximizing the damage from his spells. This became evident through the sheer amount of damage Uldred suffered from a seemingly minor spell.

The beast roared in pain and quickly focused all of its attention on Daylen. "Good," Daylen thought as he watched the others from the corner of his eye. Elissa was up and moving now, but still clearly injured. The others had also managed to kill all but two abominations. Uldred's eyes were full of fury as he faced off against Daylen.

"Why do you insist on struggling against the inevitable? Would you honestly prefer death to perfection? Then so be it!" Uldred roared as he once again hit Daylen with an anti-magic burst that dispelled his spell might. This time he followed up with another swipe of his claws, which Daylen narrowly avoided after raising an arcane shield. Uldred quickly dispelled his shield and blasted him yet again with a mana drain spell. He took another swipe with his claws which nearly caught Daylen and left a gash on his face. As Daylen was swung around by the sheer force of the attack Uldred immediately blasted him at point blank range with a fireball spell. Daylen had managed to erect a spell shield in time, but was unable to sustain it for long due to his dwindling mana reserves. The result being that only half the damage was absorbed while he took the rest. As he flew across the chamber, he could hear screams and shouting. After landing face down on the cold, stone floor, he struggled to stand.

"DAYLEN!" Neria screamed.

"Daylen, don't you dare die on me again!" Elissa shouted.

"Dammit, you're tougher than this wizard!" Duran yelled.

"Don't make me regret following you!" Darrian added.

Daylen poured every ounce of his strength into standing, but simply couldn't make it off his hands and knees.

"Daylen, please at least have the decency to die quickly. The longer you struggle, the more you'll make these young women suffer." Uldred said in cold triumph.

Daylen wanted to punch his ugly, monstrous, smug, self-satisfied face more than anything at that moment, but he had nothing left. He'd barely managed to heal the wound on his chest and now his body was covered in other injuries. He could feel what little strength he had left leaving him as he collapsed on the floor.

"That's a good child, oblivion awaits you." Uldred said as he made his way towards the others. They had finally managed to kill the remaining abominations, but now they were the sole targets for Uldred. Daylen simply watched helplessly from the floor as the monster made its way toward his friends.

Suddenly, Elissa, Duran, and Darrian rushed Uldred. They almost caught him off guard, but he was quick to counter their attacks. "What were they thinking?" Daylen wondered. Wynne and Neria would be defenseless now. And then he noticed it, his wounds were starting to heal and his strength was returning. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Neria and Wynne working to heal him and restore his mana while the others kept Uldred distracted. He would only get one shot at this and he was sure that the others had thrown everything on this gamble. As soon as his strength returned he rose to his feet and activated spell might. The others quickly scattered as he fired a stonefist spell at Uldred. The beast was sent flying to an empty corner of the chamber, right where Daylen wanted him. Daylen then summoned a tempest spell, followed by an inferno. Uldred roared in pain as the powered up spells' combined assault tore away at him.

"Stupid child! I am the pinnacle of the arcane! You dare to believe that you can destroy me!" he roared as he struggled to escape the destruction.

"Uldred...You talk too much." Daylen said coldly before blasting him with a crushing prison spell.

"The combined might of all three powered-up spells fueled by Daylen's resolve finally put an end to the creature known as Uldred. As the charred and battered corpse of the creature finally fell, Daylen released a sigh of relief.

"Well, let's not do that again." he said as he turned to his friends who bolted towards him. The girls were quick to hug him while Duran and Darrian smiled as they approached.

"I guess I owe you another sovereign." Duran chuckled.

"And I owe you my life. Again." Darrian said while grinning.

They all laughed while Wynne approached Irving and the other mages who had been held captive. They were all clearly astounded by the battle they'd just witnessed. "Are you alright Irving?" Wynne asked gently.

"How could I not be? My two best apprentices are here." Irving said as he observed Daylen and Neria fondly.

Not long afterwards, everyone made their way back to the entrance of the tower to inform Gregoir that everything was alright. Cullen was determined to convince him that the survivors could still be tainted by demons, but Irving's word that all was well again was good enough for Gregoir. As Gregoir began organizing his men to search the rest of the tower for survivors, Irving turned to Daylen and the others.

"It seems you came here hoping to gain assistance." Irving said.

"We did, but after everything that's happened, I couldn't possibly ask the circle to join our fight against the Blight." Daylen responded.

"Daylen, you and Neria should understand better than anyone that the circle is not to be underestimated. When the time comes, we will join you." Irving said as he faced Daylen. "And might I add, I couldn't be more proud of the both of you."

Both Daylen and Neria smiled. "Indeed, they are wise and powerful beyond their years. They are also good children and they always have been. And that is why I have decided to accompany them on their journey." Wynne said as she approached.

"Wynne, we need you here." Irving pleaded.

"The circle will be fine in my absence Irving. I intend to look after Daylen and Neria until they see this Blight ended." Wynne responded, with a gentle finality in her voice.

Irving looked at her for a moment before responding. "You never were one to sit around when there was adventure to be had." he chuckled.

Wynne simply smiled. "Wynne are you sure about this? We'd be honored to have you, but we tend to end up in some really sketchy scenarios." Daylen said in a concerned tone.

"I could have guessed as much Daylen. It is yet another good reason for me to accompany you, I'm sure that Neria has been at her wit's end keeping you out of trouble." Wynne said as she gave Daylen a mildly stern look.

"Why is it always me? I'll have you know that I'm a model of good behavior." Daylen said in mock offense while the others laughed.

Daylen then decided to approach Gregoir. "So old man, what are the chances that we can count on your help too?" he asked while grinning.

Gregoir took a long look at Daylen. "You've always been a troublemaking, rule bending, back talking, pain in my ass. And here you are now, all grown up and leading armies against darkspawn. So something must've gone right at some point. My men and I will stand with you when the time comes." Gregoir said simply.

Daylen was actually stunned, he was only half serious when he asked and even though Gregoir had stated that he'd consider pledging his men earlier, Daylen had never expected him to actually do it. "Uh, thanks Gregoir."

The two men stared at each other for a moment longer before Daylen finally broke the silence. "So...did we just have a moment there or what?"

"Get out of my sight! Don't you have work to do, the Blight isn't going to stop itself!" Gregoir fumed before departing to join his men while Irving chuckled at the exchange.

The group decided to await Wynne in the entrance hall while she gathered her things and checked on all of the survivors who began showing up. At this point, everyone had heard about Daylen's battle with Uldred and there were also several people who remembered being rescued by him and Neria in the fade. They were soon being beset by well wishers and admirers who were eager to thank them. As the chamber filled with more and more people, Daylen noticed Elissa standing alone in a corner and decided to check on her.

"Uh oh. I know that look. Listen I know I haven't gotten around to replacing that horse yet, but I'll-"

"Just stop!" Elissa said angrily. "You don't get to just go back to normal and pretend that none of this happened! You nearly died a dozen times over today, so just stop."

"Elissa..." Daylen was facing the young woman now and staring at those beautiful hazel eyes that had hung in his memory since he was a boy.

"And you know what the worst part is? You would've died and left me alone without knowing where I truly stood with you. Am I just a childhood friend? Your best friend's sister? You joke around and then get my hopes up, but two seconds later you're flirting with some stranger or that witch. So just tell me now, where do I stand with you?" Elissa asked as she stared back at Daylen.

Without hesitation Daylen kissed her, passionately and lovingly. When they finally parted, Daylen continued to look into her eyes. "The same place you've always stood, as the girl I've dreamt about every night for twelve years." Elissa smiled and leapt into his arms. There were quite a few cat calls and whistles to be heard while several young women appeared to be scandalized. A few seconds later one of the children in the room began tugging on Daylen's new senior enchanter robes. Daylen then kneeled down to speak with the child.

"Is that some kind of magic?" the little boy asked.

"Why, yes it is my young friend! You see if you manage to master this magic when you're older, it'll get you out of all sorts of trouble with women and-" Elissa promptly kicked Daylen onto the floor as she marched off, her face completely red. As the laughter in the room died down, the little boy turned to Daylen once more.

"Your girlfriend is scary." he said.

"That she is." Daylen replied while smiling, as he placed a hand on the child's head.


	20. Chapter 20: Good News All Around

Chapter 20: Good News All Around

The young wardens that Duncan had gathered were always an eccentric bunch to say the least. Although they were all skilled in their own way, they were also an eclectic group of personalities who could be just plain weird when they were together. This was never more evident than after Daylen and the others returned to the campsite after their grueling battle through the circle's tower. There had been quite a bit of news to be shared, mainly the fact that they'd secured the mages' support in fighting the Blight and the templars' as well. There was also the fact that they now had a new companion, Wynne, who would be joining them as well as a tranquil emissary from the tower who would be managing any runes that they could gather for their army. Indeed, the stories of the battles that they fought and the enemies that they faced would have enthralled the average listener. But unfortunately for Daylen and Elissa, the biggest piece of news in camp at the moment was the fact that they were officially an item.

This was of course becoming a nuisance to the both of them. Elissa had to put up with Natia's incessant questions and innuendo while Neria spent minutes at a time simply grinning at her. The situation was hardly better for Daylen who was subjected to Duran's repeated prodding, Darrian's spastic outbursts of "Honestly, it's about time!" and Theron's repeated nods of approval. There was also the awkward moment with Aedan, who despite being his best friend and right hand man, was still slightly put off by the news. But the worst culprit had to be Alistair, who seemed to be even more gossipy than the women.

After awhile, they simply told their friends to piss off while they made their way to a quiet corner of the camp. "Can you believe them?" Elissa asked as Daylen held her.

"Quite the group of morons we have here, huh?" Daylen responded.

"And you happen to be their leader, so what does that make you?" she asked playfully.

"The biggest one I suppose. And I'm okay with that." he said before kissing her.

Aedan had been observing the scene from across the camp and suddenly sighed. "You look troubled." Leliana said as she took a seat beside him. "Shouldn't this be happy news? Your best friend and your sister falling in love, it is rather beautiful no?"

"There's no one else in Thedas who I'd entrust Elissa to, but this is still, well...weird for me. There's also the fact that, technically, she is my younger sister and the only family I have left." Fergus had never returned from his scouting mission at Ostagar and the twins could only assume the worst. Neither Aedan nor Elissa had yet to share their family's history with anyone, so for the time being only Daylen and Neria knew the truth of the burdens they carried. "And the worst part is, I knew they were in love with each other before they did." Aedan added.

"That sounds like an interesting story." Leliana said, clearly eager to hear the tale.

"When we were children, we'd spend the summers playing together. I remember one time when we were dueling with sticks in our family's courtyard. I'd beaten Daylen and he ended up with a scratch on his face. Elissa patched him up and then scolded him, she basically told him it was his own fault for being weak." Aedan explained.

"She didn't!?" Leliana gasped.

"Oh, she did. I felt terrible afterwards, Daylen is a pretty bad loser to begin with. Watching him walk off all depressed made me feel even worse. That all changed later that day after dinner. Elissa got me alone and nearly tore my head off, it was the worst verbal assault I've ever gotten. In the end she swore that if I ever hurt him again, she'd hurt me a million times worse." Aedan added.

"Your sister has a lot of fire doesn't she?" Leliana laughed.

"I didn't find it funny, I was completely shocked and then angry. So the next morning I went to find her and give her a piece of my mind. I ended up stumbling across her and Daylen in our mother's garden, I figured she was probably yelling at him again, so I hid." Aedan said sheepishly.

"Coward." Leliana teased.

"Anyway, Daylen was holding her hands for awhile before he finally told her that he was going to get stronger. He said he would get strong enough so that she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore and strong enough to protect her." Aedan continued.

"So Daylen was a sweet talker even as a child. I suppose that's where you get it from as well." Leliana said while grinning at Aedan.

"My lines are way better than his." Aedan said in a cocky manner. "Anyway, that was when I realized that my best friend and sister were in love. The way her face lit up when he told her, it was obviously the look of a girl in love." Aedan added.

"What an adorable story." Leliana said warmly after he'd finished.

"Well the happy ending only happened recently. Not long after that Daylen completely disappeared. We heard rumors that he'd been sent to a circle, but we had no idea where or even if they were true." Aedan continued.

"That must have been hard for the both of you." Leliana said sadly.

"It was. It was probably even harder for Elissa, having her first love disappear without a trace. She poured everything into her sword training afterwards. I guess she wanted to become strong enough to go out and find him someday. Seeing her work so hard inspired me, so you could say that Daylen is the reason we've gotten so strong." Aedan finished.

"What a wonderful love." Leliana said as she gazed at Aedan with her deep green eyes, eyes that he could get lost in for hours at a time.

"Well anyway, weird or not, I'm happy for them. I'm sorry for boring you with my nonsense." Aedan said dismissively.

"It wasn't nonsense at all! It was a lovely story and your feelings are never nonsense to me." Leliana said seriously. As the pair continued to gaze at one another, Leliana finally spoke again.

"Aedan...there's something you should know about me." she began.

On another edge of the camp, Darrian was furiously honing his skills by practicing with his sword and dagger. He'd hardly noticed Neria approach. "Darrian?" she called as she got closer.

He was quick to halt his routine. "Is something wrong Neria?" he asked.

"Not exactly. I just wanted to apologize for what happened in the fade. We all have things that we'd prefer to keep personal and losing your mother is obviously something that you'd prefer to keep to yourself." Neria said apologetically.

"Neria, it's fine. Considering the fact that a sadistic demon was using the memory to enslave me, I think you can all get a pass." Darrian said jokingly. It was the first time she'd heard him make a joke.

"And it's not like it's the first time I've had to revisit the wound." Darrian added quietly.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Neria asked.

Darrian knew the answer to that question before she'd even asked. Neria was the only one he'd trust with the story of his mother's death. "If you don't mind listening." Darrian said hesitantly.

Neria took a seat on a nearby tree stump while Darrian took a seat on the ground and crossed his legs. "My mother wasn't a typical elf from the alienage. She was tough and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty in order to protect my father and I and the alienage." Darrian said proudly. "A few years ago, a disease struck the alienage and a lot of us got desperate. It was only affecting the alienage so no one bothered trying to help. We couldn't even afford medicine, let alone a healer so the situation was pretty bad." Darrian said bitterly.

"I wish I'd been there." Neria said quielty.

Darrian smiled a little before continuing. "It didn't take long for the local human thugs in the city to take advantage. They started selling medicine at ridiculous costs. More and more people were driven into debt, I mean try to imagine that you have nothing and yet you still manage to lose everything." Darrian said angrily.

"Darrian..." Neria couldn't imagine a more hopeless situation.

"So my mother went to work. She destroyed records of who owed what, stole back all of the money and valuables that they'd shaken down off of people and got the medicine. She really was a master rogue." Darrian said, pride once again in his voice. "So they declared war on my mother and got their asses handed to them. My mother taught me everything about handling a blade and she was a damn good teacher. Every two-bit thug and hired mercenary ended up getting cut down. Eventually, they wised up and took the coward's approach." Darrian continued.

Neria instinctively took Darrian's hand as he continued.

"One day I was carrying some firewood with Shianni when some of the bastards started taunting me from the other side of the gate to the alienage. They said some vile things about my mother and like a fool I ran after them, outside the alienage and unarmed. I was easy prey. They caught me, beat me and held me prisoner while they sent my mother a message." Darrian said quietly.

Neria held his hand tighter as he continued.

"Of course my mother showed up and she carved her way through all of them, by the time she reached me, she was covered in blood. Not even my mother could fight such a battle and not get wounded. My father was so relieved when we both arrived home the next morning. After my mother saw to patching me up, we tried the same for her. But her wounds wouldn't stop bleeding and they wouldn't heal no matter what. The bastards had coated their blades with some kind of exotic poison and my mother was dying. We tried everything, pleading with herbalists, we even begged the chantry to appeal to the circle for a healer. But everyone ignored us and eventually my mother..." Darrian couldn't continue.

"Darrian, I'm so sorry! I wish, I wish,-"

"It's alright Neria. Like I said, it's an old wound. And that's why part of me will always hate humans." Darrian finally said.

There was silence before Neria spoke. "There's at least one human I know you don't hate, a human that you actually trust." she said softly. "Since you first met Daylen, you've never called him 'human' or 'shem' and you even trusted him with your life." Neria added.

Darrian began to consider what she'd just said. It was true, when he first met Daylen he acknowledged the faults of humans. He didn't make excuses for them and he didn't judge him for being an elf. Actually, now that he thought about it Daylen didn't make distinctions about anyone based on their race. Without realizing it he'd grown to trust a human, and even considered him a friend.

"Damn. Well at least I can still hate Aedan." Darrian said after awhile with a grin.

Neria smiled and shook her head as they both began laughing.

As Wynne surveyed all of the young warriors around camp who had been tasked with fighting the darkspawn, she couldn't help but feel guilty. It was, after all, these young people who would be facing all of the dangers of the Blight. Children in her eyes, two of whom she had a hand in raising. She then watched Daylen finally separate himself from Elissa and head towards the woman called Morrigan. Daylen and Neria had explained the circumstances of her traveling with them and also of his lessons with the apostate. Wynne was wary of both. There were many things she'd planned to lecture Daylen about, and that woman was at the top of the list. For now she would simply keep an eye out for trouble. As she observed Daylen make his way across the camp she became aware of Theron's presence nearby watching her.

"Is there something you need dear?" Wynne asked.

"Neria speaks highly of you and you were one of her mentors." Theron replied quietly.

"And you'd like to know more about Neria?" Wynne said while smiling. "Child, there's nothing about Neria that she wouldn't be willing to share with you herself. And if you'd like this old woman's advice, that would be the better way to get it." Wynne added while still smiling.

Theron nodded and made his way towards Neria and Darrian. "So young..." Wynne mused.

"So you're telling me Daylen killed rooms full of abominations and demons, with one spell?" Alistair asked Duran.

"For the hundredth time, YES!" Duran responded angrily. He'd been recounting their adventures in the tower to Alistair and Natia around the campfire and was steadily growing more annoyed with Alistair's questions.

"And he killed a pride abomination? And he and Neria have spells to fight against magic?" Alistair added.

"For the last sodding time, YES!" Duran shouted.

"Why are you so interested anyway?" Natia asked.

"It just seems like I'm out of a job." Alistair mused.

"You and every other templar." Duran chuckled.

"I'm more interested in finding out how those two finally stopped being stupid." Natia asked as she motioned to Daylen and then Elissa.

"Didn't Elissa give you the details?" Duran asked.

"I barely got the gist of it in between blushes." Natia said, mildly annoyed.

"You know Neria was there too." Duran replied.

"And she's even worse, with her fits of giggling two words in. So, now I'm asking you handsome. Give me the details and I'll let you buy me a drink." Natia said coyly while smiling at Duran.

"Duran, there's no way you're that easy right?" Alistair asked as he stared over the fire. Duran had clearly not heard him as he'd already launched into his recollection of events that led to Daylen confessing to Elissa. Alistair couldn't help but shake his head at both the story and Natia's easy manipulation of his dwarven friend.

"That was really smooth, you should take a lesson from Daylen handsome." Natia replied after hearing the story.

"That might be a problem seeing as how I haven't known you for over twelve years and I have no desire to get kicked on the sodding floor." Duran chuckled.

"You're forgetting, you'd get a kiss too." Natia said while poking an ember.

"Yeah, there's that too..." Duran said as he eyed Natia.

Alistair started to clear his throat after taking as much of the flirtations as he could. "Aren't we forgetting someone? Do you really think Morrigan will just step aside?" Alistair asked after glancing in her direction.

"She will if she knows what's good for her. I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand by and watch her screw this up." Natia said viciously.

"There you go being a big sister again." Duran teased.

"Yeah, well maybe I am." Natia said with a smile as she looked over at Elissa and then Neria.

Duran and Alistair smiled as well while watching her. The same thought crossing their minds, Elissa had the best backup in Thedas.

"You have surprised me." Morrigan said after completing another lesson with Daylen. "Very soon there will be nothing left for me to teach you." she added.

"Funny, I remember telling you that I would." Daylen responded with a grin. "And look on the bright side, pretty soon you won't have to put up with me harassing you about your past and details about your life."

The fool didn't realize that she'd grown accustomed to their chats. Or perhaps he did and was simply teasing her? She could never really tell when it came to Daylen.

"Yes, I can see why your circle is so fond of you and why they regard you so highly. Your senior enchanter, especially." Morrigan said while glancing in Wynne's direction.

"So you had a run-in with Wynne I take it? I figured that would happen." Daylen replied casually.

"Not so much a run-in as an introduction. She told me who she was and exactly how she felt about me and my relationship with you. Twas most amusing." Morrigan smirked. "One must wonder whether she is this forward as a result of my upbringing or because of my status as an apostate." she added.

"Don't forget the Flemeth connection." Daylen laughed.

"Indeed." Morrigan replied casually before glancing in Elissa's direction.

"It would seem that you and that girl have become close." Morrigan mused.

"And what girl might that be?" Daylen asked playfully.

"You know exactly who I mean. The naive little girl with the swords. Tis most interesting, she certainly doesn't seem like your type. Innocent, simple-minded, inexperienced-"

"Morrigan, I'm going to stop you right there before you end up saying something that really pisses me off. I love Elissa and I want to be with her. It's as simple as that." Daylen responded with a finality in his voice that told her that the discussion was over.

After awhile he stood to leave. "Well goodnight Morrigan." he said as he stood and turned.

"Wait! There is something else I wanted to ask you. Long ago my mother was 'relieved' of a particular grimoire by a most persistent templar. Chances are that it ended up in your circle's tower. Given the current state of disarray, I was hoping that you could take the opportunity to search for it." Morrigan explained.

Daylen was almost certain that the grimoire that she was referring to was the same book that he'd picked up in Irving's office. "And what exactly would you do with this book?" Daylen asked curiously.

"I would take it as an opportunity to learn my mother's secrets, secrets that she never wished me to know. There could be spells or knowledge that only she knows of hidden within. If nothing else, it will make me a better asset to you." Morrigan responded.

Daylen took a brief moment to observe her. Morrigan was the one person he could never read, Flemeth's influence no doubt. It was infuriating but also fascinating. Lies didn't seem her style, but she'd damn sure be good at them. In the end, it came down to whether Daylen could trust her word or not and he had no idea whether he could. So, ultimately it was a gamble.

"Alright Morrigan, here." Daylen finally said as he presented her with the book.

"Mother's grimoire! When did you-"

"I picked it up in Irving's office while we were there, I figured I might be able to decipher it at some point. But I'm guessing only you and your mother can read the text, so it wouldn't be much use to me." Daylen replied casually.

"You are correct. Thank you, Daylen. I won't squander this chance to learn what Flemeth would have kept from me." Morrigan said gratefully.

"Good, I look forward to seeing you become an even more valuable asset to 'merry band' of misfits." Daylen said while smiling as he made his way back to the fire in the center of camp where Elissa awaited him along with their friends. Morrigan would definitely keep the book close, it was indeed an opportunity to gain more than Flemeth would allow. But it was also the first gift Daylen had ever given her...


	21. Chapter 21: Antiques and Assassins

Chapter 21: Antiques and Assassins

"You have coin strangers? With Orzammar closed off, Old Tegrin can give you a discount. Fine weapons and arms, dwarven made." the eager dwarven merchant said as the young wardens approached his cart.

"We sure do run across our fair share of dwarven merchants." Aedan said casually.

"Especially those who offer supposed discounts." Daylen added.

"We should at least see if his items are crap or not." Natia chimed in.

Theron lingered in the rear of the group, completely lost in his own thoughts and barely acknowledged the merchant. The group had just returned from purchasing supplies from the quartermaster at the circle's tower and were on their way back to the campsite. "So, what's up with him?" Aedan whispered.

"Darrian pulled ahead of him a bit, so he's probably wondering how to close the gap." Daylen replied while grinning.

"Oh yeah, your doing if I'm not mistaken." Aedan said seriously.

"All I did was bring Darrian along on a mission, the fact that the whole fade fiasco brought him closer to Neria was a complete fluke." Daylen replied while browsing Tegrin's wares.

"I have to know, would you really be okay with Neria going out with Darrian? Sweet, innocent, always helpful Neria dating that jackass. You'd really let that happen?" Aedan asked incredulously.

Both Daylen and Natia laughed at his expression. "The two of you really do hate each other, don't you?" Daylen mused. "On a side note, you really will have to learn how to work together. I can't keep making teams to accommodate the fact that you and Darrian don't get along." Daylen added seriously.

"Fine. But answer my question." Aedan responded impatiently.

"I don't have any issues with Darrian or Theron for that matter. I'd trust either one of them to take care of Neria. They've both got their work cut out for them seeing as she's completely clueless when it comes to romance where she's the center of attention. That being said, she's already in love. I'm pretty sure she hasn't even realized it herself yet. The fact is I already know who she's fallen for, hell I knew before she did." Daylen explained.

Aedan looked at him for a moment before laughing.

"What?" Daylen asked.

"Nothing, it's just...you really are her big brother." Aedan said while still laughing.

"Yeah, well anyway, how are things with Leliana? The whole bard thing must have thrown you for a loop." Daylen said curiously.

"Honestly, I'm fine with it. After she told me about her past and the whole mess with this Marjolaine woman, all I wanted to do was hold her. Who she was doesn't matter to me and I know that her past will always be a part of her, but that won't change how I feel." Aedan said resolutely.

"That was good, you should've written it down. Ancestors, the two of you should be coaching Duran." Natia said while examining one of Tegrin's daggers.

"Or you could try giving our buddy a chance? I mean come on Natia, the two of you have been flirting back and forth since we met you guys." Daylen teased.

"Sorry, but he'll have to impress me first. If he can convince me that he's in it for the long haul, then maybe. I've seen enough spineless dusters walk away after talking big..." Natia trailed off.

Natia never talked much about her past, but she and Duran had explained the caste system of Orzammar. Life as a casteless dwarf sounded awful to say the least and Daylen couldn't help but draw parallels between their plight and those of many elves who lived in the cities. His conclusion was simple, dwarven society was run by assholes. Natia agreed.

"Hang on! How much for these?" Aedan suddenly blurted out enthusiastically.

He was holding a pair of powder blue satin shoes with ribbons that circled the ankles. They were also covered in gold lace trim with dangling charms shaped like puppies. The design was elegant but also slightly ostentatious, clearly Orlesian.

"I certainly hope those are for Leliana, otherwise we'll need to have a long talk later." Daylen joked.

"Haha. Obviously they are. She was just telling me about a pair of shoes like this that had been tempting her back in Orlais." Aedan replied.

"You actually remembered that? You're gold in my book sweetie." Natia said, clearly impressed.

"How whipped are you?" Daylen joked.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me after you take a look at THAT and not buy it." Aedan said mockingly as he pointed to the item that sat next to the shoes.

Daylen's eyes lit up at the sight of the antique sitting before him. "I concede." Daylen sighed as he pulled out his coin purse.

After making their purchases, the group continued their trek back to camp. It wasn't long before a strange woman approached.

"Please! You have to help us! They've attacked the cart!" she shouted before taking off in the opposite direction.

"Can you say setup?" Daylen said sarcastically.

"I've set better traps than this." Natia added.

As the two grinned at each other they noticed that their two less cynical companions were already rushing ahead to help the stranger.

"Sodding morons!" Natia yelled as she and Daylen rushed after them.

The mystery woman led them to a small canyon. As they arrived, their path backwards was immediately blocked by a fallen tree while archers revealed themselves from both sides of the cliffs that surrounded the gorge. Ahead of them stood half a dozen armed rogues as well as the mystery woman who revealed herself as a mage. The leader of the group appeared to be an elf with blond hair and tattoos on his face. He quickly drew his daggers. "The Grey Wardens die here!" he shouted before launching the attack.

Daylen quickly noticed that the paths that lead to the archers were lined with traps. "Natia head for those traps and do your thing, Theron cover her, Aedan and I will handle our friends here!" Daylen yelled. The team reacted instantly. Theron began firing precision shots at the archers forcing them to take cover while Natia disarmed the traps. After clearing herself a path to the top of the cliffs she began backstabbing the archers before they could react. Meanwhile, Theron focused on taking down the archers on the other set of cliffs.

Daylen quickly dispatched the enemy mage with a mana clash before transforming into a bear and tearing into the hapless rogues who'd attempted to ambush him while Aedan dispatched his own would be ambushers. After laying waste to the rogues, Daylen quickly returned to human form and fired several powerful blasts from his staff at the mysterious elf who'd led the attack right as he attempted to kill Aedan. After Theron took out the final archer and they made sure the coast was clear, the group decided to catch their breaths.

"Let me make this really clear, DON'T EVER FALL FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN!" Natia yelled at Aedan and Theron. "It makes me look bad!" she added angrily.

"Actually, it makes us all look bad." Daylen added. As Aedan and Theron both lowered their heads in shame, Daylen decided that they'd been chastised enough for the day and moved on to examining the leader of the would be assassins.

"Time to wake up buddy!" Daylen announced as he prodded the unconscious elf with his staff.

The elf groaned as he regained his senses. "Oh, I half expected to wake up dead." he said cheerfully.

"That can still be arranged." Aedan responded angrily.

"Easy Aedan, I have a few questions for our friend here." Daylen said seriously.

"Is this the part where you interrogate me? Let me save you the trouble. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends and I'm an assassin employed by the Antivan Crows." the elf said casually.

"The Antivan Crows!" Aedan shouted, clearly shocked.

"You've heard of them I take it?" Daylen asked.

"Oriana told me about them once, she was from Antiva. They're supposed to be the best assassins in the country, they're famous for always getting the job done." Aedan explained.

"Right you are my friend, although I must say that given the current situation, I'd understand if you had some doubts." Zevran said before laughing.

"You're awfully carefree for a guy who could be dead pretty soon." Natia replied.

"My dear, in my line of work one tends to grow accustomed to the threat of death. After all, it comes with the territory." Zevran said calmly.

"I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway. Who hired you?" Daylen asked.

"A rather taciturn fellow in the capital by the name of Loghain. He paid a rather substantial sum to the Crows for the elimination of all remaining Grey Wardens in Ferelden." Zevran replied casually.

"You just keep pushing my buttons Loghain." Daylen said, mildly annoyed.

"So, we must now be wary of assassins as well." Theron added in his typical, calm demeanor.

"What's one more group of idiots that want us dead?" Natia mused sarcastically.

"As if our job wasn't hard enough." Aedan added.

"If I may interject? I have just failed in my attempt to kill you and therefore my life is forfeit as far as the Crows are concerned. You seem like the reasonable sort, so perhaps I could accompany you and offer my services for awhile." Zevran proposed.

"You're joking right? Why the hell would we trust you?" Aedan asked, astonished by Zevran's audacity.

"He has a point. Weren't you paid a fortune to kill us? Wouldn't failing and then aiding us violate some sort of assassin's code or something? At the very least it's bad business etiquette. Daylen mused.

"I suppose that's true, but I wasn't paid anything. The money went directly to the Crows which makes me about as poor as a Chantry mouse. The truth is I never had a choice in joining the Crows. They purchased me as a boy for quite the bargain I hear and trained me to kill for them. Personally, I'd prefer to part ways with them if possible. And as I said before, I'm a dead man as far as they're concerned for my failure to kill you. Even if I somehow managed to finish the job now, they'd still kill me on principle for failing the first time." Zevran explained.

"Why should I even remotely consider this?" Daylen asked seriously.

"The fact is, there is still a contract on your heads, but I am familiar with how the Crows operate. I can make sure that you don't fall into any of their schemes. I'm also a trained killer obviously, I'm skilled at picking locks, good at cards and I know over a dozen massage techniques." Zevran said before laughing. "The truth is I'd rather take my chances with you than with the Crows, so what do you say?" he added seriously.

Daylen took a moment to consider. Everything that Zevran had just said was true, he was certain of that. There was no deception on his part, but the question remained. If the Crows pushed, would he stick with them?

"I have been rolling the dice a lot lately." Daylen said as he eyed Zevran. "What the hell, welcome aboard Zevran."

"Are you serious?" Natia asked.

"Daylen, he just tried to kill us." Aedan added.

"And he failed, which means his status is the same as ours as far as the Crows are concerned. Plus, it's not like he's the first dangerous stranger we've picked up." Daylen responded.

"I agree, his talents may be of use to us." Theron added.

"Dammit Daylen, alright. I'll back you on this, but if he so much as sneezes funny I'll slit his throat." Natia said as she eyed Zevran menacingly.

"Alright, I'm convinced. Maker help us when Elissa finds out though. If you can't sweet talk your way out of this, then for all our sakes use that trump card." Aedan said seriously.

"You worry too much. Once I explain things, Elissa will come around. Now let's get moving." Daylen said confidently.

Several hours later, Daylen found himself facing his greatest battle yet as he faced a furious Elissa who, despite his best efforts, was far less than receptive to the idea of Zevran joining them. He'd decided to hold a meeting at camp to introduce everyone to Zevran and to decide their next destination.

"So, let me get this straight. He tried to kill you and you recruited him." she asked, still fuming.

"That's about the gist of it, but to be fair there are a lot of other elements at play here." Daylen replied calmly.

"Why the hell did you let him go through with this?!" Elissa shouted as she spun around to face Aedan.

"You know how Daylen is, what was I supposed to do?" Aedan said defensively.

"So the three of you couldn't be bothered to try and talk him out of bringing home an assassin." Elissa said angrily as she glanced at Natia and Theron.

"I must say this has been quite enlightening, I had been wondering what type of woman Daylen's lover would be. I imagined she'd have to be a rather phenomenal woman to hold the interest of such a man and you my dear do not disappoint." Zevran said in a charming tone.

"Shut up!" Elissa shouted.

"As you wish." Zevran said while smiling.

"Elissa, Daylen has already made the decision. All we can do now is accept it and trust his judgment." Neria added soothingly.

"At this point we've all gotten used to the wizard's recklessness. At any rate, I'll keep an eye on the assassin." Darrian said while glancing at Zevran.

"And I would welcome the attention my young friend." Zevran said while smiling at Darrian, catching him off guard.

"If that's settled, then we should really decide where we're heading to next." Duran added.

"I've actually been thinking about that. Even if we fulfill all of the treaties, we'd still need the support of Ferelden itself. As long as Loghain is in control, that's not going to happen. We need the support of a noble with a good enough standing to challenge Loghain. Basically, we need Arl Eamon." Daylen explained.

"I agree, but if he's as ill as the rumors suggest..." Alistair began.

"Well, we can see for ourselves once we arrive in Redcliffe. To be honest, I'm not convinced that Loghain hasn't had a hand in this and the sooner we get there, the better. Neria and Wynne can examine him at least and we'll go on from there." Daylen explained.

"So you're taking those two with you then?" Natia asked.

"No, we're all going this time. The fact that he has assassins after us means Loghain is fairly desperate and if I'm right he's already made his move in Redcliffe. I'm not taking any chances, so everyone be ready." Daylen said before dismissing the meeting.

"Daylen, I must say you travel in rather enchanting company. But I suppose that's a given, you being a mage and all." Zevran said before laughing.

"I hate to burst your bubble Zevran, but none of the guys here swing that way. As for the women, it goes without saying that Elissa is spoken for. Neria is like my little sister, so making a move on her is taking a serious gamble with your life. She also has two very protective potential suitors who wouldn't hesitate to murder you. Flirt with Natia and Leliana at your own risk, Duran and Aedan will definitely have a few choice words for you, that's assuming they don't just kill you." Daylen explained. He felt he should establish the social dynamics of the group early, especially after Zevran spent half of the journey to camp making passes at him and his companions.

"And what of the raven haired witch and the senior mage? Zevran asked completely unabashed.

"Morrigan is...well Morrigan. I can't explain it any better than that, if you get to know her you'll understand what I mean. And Wynne? Are you serious? She's like my grandmother! You know what, have at it Zevran." Daylen said, completely exasperated by Zevran's moxie.

Zevran laughed once more. "On a serious note, I want to thank you Daylen. There aren't many who would've given me this chance. I'll try to make sure you don't regret it." Zevran said before bowing and taking his leave.

Afterwards, Daylen caught up to Elissa on the edge of camp. "So are you still mad at me?" he teased.

"Yes, I am." she pouted as he wrapped his arms around her. "Just because everyone else goes easy on you doesn't mean I will too." she added.

"Listen, Zevran is without a doubt a dangerous guy. But I also believe that his word means something and that's pretty rare these days." Daylen said as he kissed her cheek.

"Daylen, I worry okay. I can't help it. We're Grey Wardens, danger will always be a part of who we are. I just don't like to see you adding to it, especially with this Loghain situation. But you made your decision and you do tend to be right about these things, so I'll live with it." she replied.

"I'm glad. I'd hate for you to be in a bad mood when I gave you this." Daylen said as he withdrew a small, gift wrapped box from his pocket.

"What's this?" Elissa asked curiously.

"Something else that I'm sorry to say I made you wait over a decade for." Daylen said while smiling.

Elissa quickly opened the gift to find a small, silver horse with sapphire eyes staring up at her. "Daylen..." was all she could manage before embracing him and initiating their most passionate kiss yet.

The next morning Daylen made sure that all of his companions were prepared. He and Neria had made sure to craft extra health and lyrium poultices during the previous day and Morrigan had lent her assistance as well. Redcliffe wasn't very far from their current location, But Daylen couldn't shake the feeling that they were about to walk into a warzone and he'd make damn sure that they were prepared. As they packed up the last of the campsite Daylen noticed that Alistair seemed to be distracted. He was pretty sure that it was due to Arl Eamon's condition. The former templar had previously explained how his mother had been a servant in Castle Redcliffe and how the arl had raised him after her death until he married an Orlesian noblewoman who resented his presence in the castle. Afterwards, he was sent to the Chantry and he hadn't handled it well. The thought that the man who'd taken him in might now be dying without knowing how grateful he was had to be eating away at him.

"We were all brats as kids. I know I was and so were Aedan and Elissa despite what they might say. Even Neria had her moments." Daylen said as he approached Aliststair.

"You a brat, never!" Alistair responded sarcastically.

"I know! Practically Impossible!" Daylen shot back with an equal amount of sarcasm.

The two friends laughed for a few moments before Alistair spoke again. "Thanks Daylen."

Daylen smiled before turning to walk away when Alistair grabbed his hand. "Wait, there's something else."

"What is it?" Daylen asked.

"You see...nothing, never mind." Alistair said hesitantly.

Daylen looked at him for a moment. "Alright, well let's get going."

"Yeah, right." Alistair replied before walking off.

It didn't take a keen sense of observation to see that Alistair was hiding something. But Daylen decided not to press the issue, after all the guy had enough on his mind and so did Daylen. A few minutes later the young wardens and their allies were on their way to Redcliffe village and a disturbing new battle.


	22. Chapter 22: Terror in Redcliffe

Chapter 22: Terror in Redcliffe

As Alistair walked ahead of the others during their trek to Redcliffe, he knew that this was his last chance to come clean. He needed to tell his friends the truth about his past before they heard it elsewhere, he owed them that much. So he finally stopped and turned to face Daylen, Aedan and Duran who were slightly ahead of the others. They'd been discussing possible strategies in case the unthinkable had occurred and Loghain had actually attacked Redcliffe. If anyone deserved to hear the truth first, it was the three of them, after all they were the three he'd grown to trust the most.

"Um, listen. Before we go any further, there's something I need to tell you." Alistair announced as his three friends stopped close by.

"Yeah, I figured." Daylen responded.

"Of course you did, superhuman perception and all." Alistair joked.

"What's on your mind Alistair?" Aedan asked.

"Remember how I mentioned that my mother was a serving girl in Redcliffe Castle and how the Arl took me in after she died? Well he had a reason for that. You see my father was King Maric." Alistair confessed.

"Wait! You're royalty?!" Aedan asked, clearly shocked.

"It's actually not that surprising when you think about it. He does bear more than just a passing resemblance to Cailan and Cailan himself considered him an important Warden but he didn't invite him to the war meeting. I always found that a bit odd. It all makes sense now though." Daylen responded wisely.

"So you're an outcast prince. Welcome to the club." Duran said while grinning.

They all laughed a bit at the statement. "Honestly, it seems like half my friends are royalty or nobility." Daylen remarked.

"You're nobility yourself you know." Aedan teased.

"Tell that to the Chantry. Mages aren't allowed any political authority and they can't hold titles either. One of the many reasons my parents were thrilled with the discovery of my magic." Daylen replied sarcastically.

"Oh, it just occurred to me. Darrian is going to love this. With all his hang-ups about nobles and royalty and now he'll have to deal with the fact that he's been traveling with the future king of Ferelden. I can't wait to see his stupid face when he finds out." Aedan said eagerly.

"Hang on a minute! Who says I'm the next in line? It was made very clear to me early on that there'd be no tolerance for uprisings in my name or any such nonsense. If anyone has a stronger claim to the throne, it's Arl Eamon himself. If he's alright, I really hope he's alright." Alistair replied.

"Well my liege, we shan't argue with you any further. Just know that your faithful servants will be at your beckon call whenever you need us." Daylen said mockingly.

"Lovely, I knew telling you wouldn't blow up in my face or anything." Alistair responded sarcastically.

They all laughed for awhile as the others caught up to them. "What's so funny?" Elissa asked as she walked up.

"Just us guys shooting the breeze, you know how we get when we're together." Daylen replied casually. He knew that they'd eventually have to tell the others, but for now Alistair's identity could remain a secret amongst them and Alistair motioned his thanks as Daylen looked in his direction.

Elissa eyed them a moment longer before the group proceeded to the bridge that led into Redcliffe. Awaiting them was a young man who appeared quite exhausted. He was quick to approach them as they made their way forward.

"Are you the help that the bann sent for?" he asked desperately.

"Clearly, we're not going to like hearing what comes after this." Daylen mused.

"We came to investigate the arl's condition. What exactly is going on?" Aedan asked.

"You mean no one's heard? The arl could be dead for all we know! Redcliffe is under attack! Every night creatures attack the village. So many have died and we're nearly at our wit's end." the man replied desperately.

"What are these creatures?" Daylen asked.

"I don't rightly know. Listen, the bann can tell you more. I can bring you to him if you follow me." the man said.

Daylen agreed and before long he and the others were led into Redcliffe Village and into the Chantry which seemed to be housing a fair number of women, children, and elderly. The young man brought them before an older gentleman who was armed with a sword and shield and dressed in noble's clothing.

"Bann Teagan, I brought some travelers, they seemed to be curious about the arl." the young man said.

"I believe your name was Thomas, good work, you have my thanks. You can return to your post now." the bann replied.

The young man named Thomas bowed before leaving. "Now then, My name is Teagan Guerrin, younger brother to Arl Eamon and bann of Rainesfere." the ban said as he face the party.

"I remember you Bann Teagan, although the last time I saw you I was covered in mud." Alistair said.

"Covered in mud? Alistair is that you? Maker, I thought you were dead." the Bann Teagan replied.

"Nope, I'm still alive no thanks to Teyrn Loghain." Alistair responded bitterly.

"Yes, Loghain would have us believe that all Grey Wardens are traitors responsible for the king's death among other things." Bann Teagan said seriously.

"So there's actually someone else out here who hasn't swallowed Loghain's lies?" Daylen asked.

"What? That Cailan risked everything for glory? That Loghain pulled his men to avoid a trap? Of course not. They're the lies of a desperate man. If Eamon were here he'd set Loghain straight. Unfortunately, that's part of the current problem we're facing right now." Bann Teagan explained.

"We heard a little about the situation from that lookout earlier. Can you tell us exactly what's happening here?" Daylen asked seriously.

"Every night the village is beset by savage creatures that kill everything in their path. They appear to be undead corpses that make their way from the castle. I've been unable to enter the castle to survey the situation and no one responds to my shouts during the day. With the darkspawn pressing forward and Loghain instigating a civil war, no one has responded to my calls for help. Listen, Alistair I know that you and your friends are Grey Wardens. I'm begging you, please help us." Bann Teagan pleaded.

"It's not just up to me, though we won't stand much of a chance at securing the arl's help if this continues." Alistair replied.

"I agree, Bann Teagan we'll lend our assistance." Daylen said resolutely.

The others were quick to voice their approval, everyone except for Morrigan and Sten but Daylen had expected that. Morrigan wasn't the selfless type and Sten simply wanted to charge the archdemon as soon as possible. Daylen had already had to assert his authority with the qunari in the past, he surprisingly seemed to respect him for it. Zevran seemed more or less neutral on the issue.

"Thank you! The mayor of the village, Murdock, is outside organizing the militia. Ser Perth and a few other knights of Redcliffe are also available to discuss strategy. Talk to either of them when you're ready to begin." Bann Teagan explained.

Daylen decided to split everyone into groups to help aid in the village's defenses before nightfall. Elissa, Darrian, Morrigan and Zevran were with him while Theron, Neria, Leliana and Dog went with Aedan. Meanwhile, Natia, Sten, Alistair and Wynne went off with Duran.

As Daylen and his team were leaving they noticed a rather pretty young girl crying near the entrance of the Chantry.

"Excuse me Miss, but are you alright?" Daylen asked gently.

"I'm sorry, am I bothering you?" she asked in between sobs.

"Your tears don't bother me in the slightest, but knowing that you're upset does indeed pain me." Daylen said in a charming tone. Elissa immediately began glaring at him.

"Oh, I-I don't know what to say." the girl stammered. "A-Are you a mage by any chance?" she asked.

"Indeed I am, why do you ask?" Daylen replied.

"It's just that you're wearing robes and you have a staff. I've heard about mages before. I never expected to meet one who was so handsome, charming and...I'm sorry, I'm prattling now aren't I?" she said while blushing.

"Yes, you are." Elissa responded coldly.

"I must say Daylen, your charm is quite potent. Watching you is quite illuminating." Zevran said before laughing.

"He is quite charismatic, is he not?" Morrigan added while smirking at Elissa.

"The wizard works his magic once again." Darrian said casually.

"Please ignore my companions Miss. Why don't you tell me your name and what's troubling you?" Daylen said gently.

"My name is Kaitlyn and I'm upset because my younger brother, Bevin, is missing. I've already lost my parents to those creatures and I couldn't bear it if I lost him too!" She said before shedding more tears.

"When exactly did he disappear?" Daylen asked.

"Earlier today, if I don't find him before nightfall..." she couldn't finish.

"We have some free time right now, I'll see if I can find your brother. Would you mind telling me where your home is located?" Daylen asked politely.

Kaitlyn was quick to oblige and Daylen and the others soon found themselves searching the small home in hopes of finding the lost child. Soon after entering they heard a noise come from inside a nearby cabinet.

"Alright kid, come on out. Your lovely sister is worried sick about you and a real man shouldn't make women worry." Daylen said in an authoritative voice.

The young boy quickly appeared from within the cabinet. "Kaitlyn's worried about me? I suppose I'd better go back then." Bevin said in a guilty tone.

"What were you doing anyway?" Daylen asked.

"I came to get grandfather's sword. I thought that maybe I could use it to help..." Bevin trailed off.

"That's an admirable thought Bevin, but right now your sister needs you. Tell you what, let me have this sword of yours. Quite a few of my friends are experts with a blade and I'd be more than happy to compensate your sister for it." Daylen said.

Bevin looked at him for a moment. "Alright, the chest with the sword is upstairs. Here's the key, I'd better get back to Kaitlyn now." he said before leaving the house.

Afterwards, Daylen obtained the blade from the chest and examined it closely. The blade was long and curved, it was clearly an elegantly designed blade that reminded him of the swords he'd seen in the Dalish camp during their visit. "I don't know much about swords, but I do know enchantments when I see them. And if I'm not mistaken this is an elven blade." he said.

"Figures. Humans hoarding elven artifacts." Darrian said, mildly annoyed.

"Now, now. You can't blame Kaitlyn and her brother for inheriting something like this." Daylen said casually.

"Whatever. The girl's brother should've returned by now so let's go." Darrian replied.

Kaitlyn was eager to greet them when they returned. "You found Bevin! Thank you so much!" she said happily.

"I'm glad we could help Kaitlyn. Listen about this sword we found in your house, I'd like to pay you for it." Daylen said politely.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, you've already helped so much!" Kaitlyn said while flustered.

"Nonsense. Let's see, how about five sovereigns?" Daylen asked.

"Are you serious? T-Thank you!" Kaitlyn responded happily.

After departing the siblings and heading outside, Daylen appeared quite pleased with himself. "Tell me is aiding damsels in distress a regular pastime for you?" Zevran mused.

"Or throwing away your money?" Morrigan added.

"And flirting with wishy-washy village girls." Elissa added angrily.

"First of all, who doesn't enjoy helping a beautiful women? Secondly, I consider this an investment in the effectiveness of my team." Daylen said as he shook a rather sizeable sack of sovereigns.

"Where did you get all of that?" Elissa asked.

"You'd be surprised how many sovereigns you can make when you happen to be a master herbalist who sells high grade lyrium potions in bulk." Daylen laughed. "Especially with someone like Natia lining up buyers." he added with a grin.

Zevran laughed while Morrigan smirked. "I can't believe you!" Elissa said half impressed, half stunned.

"Yeah well, we damn sure won't be getting by on charity. If push comes to shove, I intend to be fully prepared to equip everyone with the best gear possible and that won't be cheap." Daylen said seriously. He then presented the sword, dubbed the Green Blade, to Darrian who appeared to be quite surprised by the gift. "I figure the best place for this is with an elven warrior and you're the only elven swordsman I know. You also happen to be one of the best, so use it well Darrian."

Darrian was quite speechless and could only nod his appreciation. Afterwards Daylen took Elissa into his arms. "And as for you, do you really think I'd go after someone else when I already have the best? What am I going to do with you?" Daylen asked playfully.

"I don't know. What ARE you going to do with me?" she teased.

"It's a good thing her fool of a brother isn't here to see this." Darrian said casually.

"And yet, we are. How fortuitous!" Morrigan said sarcastically while Elissa shot her a dirty look.

"Personally, I'm enjoying the show. As I said before, you are quite the enticer." Zevran said before laughing.

Afterwards, Daylen and his group met with Murdock, the town's mayor. After being briefed on the fact that the town's blacksmith was refusing to repair the militia's weapons and armor, they paid the man a visit. After promising to find and rescue the distraught man's daughter who was a servant in the castle, he agreed to get to work on the militia's gear. After inquiring whether Murdock needed any other help, they were pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't. Not long ago, he'd been concerned by the fact that a certain dwarven merchant named Dwyn had refused to participate in the battle. The dwarf was apparently a veteran of battle and his presence would've provided a morale boost to the men. Fortunately, Duran had already paid him a visit and 'convinced' him and his thugs to help defend the village. This left Daylen and his team with little to do other than visiting Ser Perth.

Luckily, Ser Perth and his fellow knights were already fully equipped. Their only issue was one of faith. They were convinced that the local priest in the Chantry could provide them with a blessing that could aid them in the coming battle. As ridiculous as it sounded, Daylen agreed to get such a blessing and convinced the priest to provide amulets that the knights believed bestowed 'divine protection.' As long as it made them fight harder, Daylen was fine with the deception. Finally, after discovering several barrels of oil in the abandoned general store, Daylen came up with the idea of a fire barricade to slow the creatures' progress in the coming battle. Ser Perth liked the idea and set his men to work setting it up. Having made all of the preparations he could think of, Daylen decided to wait for the others to return and hope that they did the same.

Inside the tavern, Aedan's group was immediately met by two key details. One was the fact that several of the militia men were getting wasted. The other was the suspicious elf who happened to be sitting alone in the corner. As a pretty barmaid with red, shoulder length hair passed by Aedan decided to get her attention.

"Excuse me Miss? I don't suppose you could help us?" he asked politely.

The woman turned and grinned as she observed Aedan. "I suppose. What can I get you?" she asked.

"Actually, answers. Why are these militia men getting drunk? Who's that elf in the corner? Why is a lovely young beauty like you working in a dump like this? And most importantly, why aren't you taking refuge in the Chantry, it simply won't do to have an exquisite vision such as yourself in harm's way." Aedan said charmingly.

Theron simply shook his head while Neria giggled. Leliana on the other hand was now staring coldly at him.

"You're a strange one you are, but handsome too. Alright, I'll bite. The militia have been getting drunk ever since those 'things' started attacking, of course they're completely broke now with no one working. Apparently being drunk is the only way they can cope with fighting those creatures. The elf's name is Berwick, he says he's here to meet his brother, but I think he's lying. And as for me, I don't have a choice but to work here. The pay is awful and Lloyd is a pig who gropes me every chance he gets but what can a girl do? I'll head to the Chantry before nightfall, but not until Lloyd closes up and hides in the basement." she responded.

"Thank you, Miss. And one more thing? Would you do me the honor of giving me your name?" Aedan asked, still maintaining his charm.

The barmaid laughed before responding. "It's Bella. Tell me, are you fighting tonight as well?" she asked.

"Indeed I am. But I'll be sure to return tomorrow and see to it that your radiance no longer languishes in this place." Aedan said with even more charm than before.

"Maker, you must have every woman between here and Denerim chasing you!" Bella laughed. "I won't hold you to that promise, but I will expect you to come back alive." she said while smiling at him alluringly before leaving.

"You and Daylen are quite the pair." Leliana said coldly after Bella departed.

"Leliana, you get more flies with honey." Aedan said while smiling at her. "And besides, I thought I made it clear that there's only one woman who has my attention at the moment." he added.

Leliana couldn't help but grin, despite her annoyance. "You really are Daylen's best friend, Aedan." Neria said while shaking her head. She'd seen Daylen use the same moves to charm the girls in the tower and more recently to talk himself out of trouble with Elissa.

Aedan simply shrugged before approaching the barkeep. "Lloyd, I take it?" he asked as he approached.

"That's right, what can I get you?" the bartender asked.

"You can get your filthy, cowardly, repugnant carcass outside and lend a hand in defending the village. Otherwise we'll have a problem." Aedan said menacingly.

Lloyd was quick to obey and shuffled out immediately. Afterwards, Aedan arranged for Bella to serve the militia free ale in Lloyd's absence. He then turned his attention to the elf in the corner. "I'm not looking for company." he said as Aedan and the others approached.

"Berwick?" Aedan asked.

"What? H-How do you know my name?" the elf asked defensively. Aedan was certain now that something suspicious was going on and he didn't need Daylen's perception to see that the elf was hiding something.

"Why so jumpy? I asked around." Aedan replied casually.

"R-Right. I just didn't expect anyone to know my name. Listen I don't know you and I'm not looking to so just please leave me alone." Berwick said nervously.

"Not very friendly, are we Berwick?" Aedan asked calmly.

"Listen, just because you're Grey Wardens doesn't mean you can just-"

"My friends and I never mentioned being Grey Wardens. Enough games Berwick. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Aedan asked seriously.

"L-Listen, I..alright. This has gotten way out of hand! I was hired by someone who works for Teyrn Loghain to watch the castle. I was suppose to report everything that happened but once those creatures started showing up I got trapped. Listen I have nothing to do with this disaster, I just thought I was helping the regent and making some coin on the side. If you don't believe me, you can take a look at the instructions they left me." Berwick said as he handed Aedan a note. "Now, please let me go?!" he added desperately.

"I'm not sure I believe everything you've said Berwick. But if you want to redeem yourself, then go and help the militia with defending the village." Aedan said seriously as he eyed the elf.

"Alright! T-Thank you!" Berwick responded before departing the tavern.

Aedan took a look at the note after he left, it contained a rather terse set of instructions to observe and report any changes at the castle. "It looks like Daylen's instincts were right on the money, again." Aedan said after reading the note.

"So Loghain has likely had a hand in this trouble?" Leliana asked quietly.

"I don't know for sure, but it strikes me as pretty strange that he'd have someone positioned to report any changes at the castle right before undead monsters started showing up." Aedan responded seriously.

"This is no mere coincidence." Theron added calmly.

"We have to tell Daylen and the others!" Neria said in a concerned tone.

"Right, let's go!" Aedan said as he led the group from the tavern.

Not long afterwards, all three groups reconvened and compared notes. "If Loghain is responsible, it means that he's likely employing a blood mage." Daylen said seriously after Aedan and the others explained what they'd learned.

"Why do you say that?" Elissa asked.

"You helped fight through a tower full of demons and abominations, yet still learned nothing apparently." Morrigan replied derisively. "It must be nice to be so simple." she added while eyeing Elissa.

"That's it! I've had enough of your-"

"Enough! Morrigan, would you please refrain from agitating my girlfriend? And Elissa, please put your swords away." Daylen asked calmly. Morrigan obliged while still staring daggers at Elissa who also obeyed while scowling right back at Morrigan.

"Elissa, if these are indeed walking corpses then they are likely dead bodies that have been possessed by demons of the fade. This is commonly associated with blood magic and demonic incursions." Wynne explained calmly.

"I thought we were done with these things and blood mages after the tower." Duran added.

"Yeah, me too. Well you can lodge all of your complaints with the regent after we're done here." Daylen joked. "Alright, let's get ready. Nightfall is nearly here." he added seriously.

As he and his friends began taking positions around the village, he couldn't help but wonder what sort of magical monstrosities they'd be facing this time. "Damn you Loghain." he muttered as he looked towards the castle and pondered the horrors that awaited within.


	23. Chapter 23: Old Friend

Chapter 23: Old Friend

As Daylen, Aedan, Sten and Zevran stood facing the fiery barricades that were now resting in the middle of the entrance from the cliffs that led into the village they could scarcely fathom what they were about to face. Daylen quickly surveyed the men positioned behind them. There was Ser Perth and three of his fellow knights, the dwarf Dwyn and his two thugs as well as an elf by the name of Berwick whom Aedan had coerced into helping. Daylen had decided to leave the others in the village itself. Murdock and his militia would protect the inner perimeter outside the Chantry which currently housed the town's civilians while everyone else did the bulk of the fighting. The goal was to take as much pressure off of the militia as possible, the poor bastards had damn sure seen more than their fair share of fights against these creatures already. The sun was already setting and everyone knew the battle was close at hand.

"Maybe they won't show?" Aedan joked as darkness began creeping upon the landscape.

"Guess again." Daylen responded as a horde of undead began skulking down the hill towards the burning barricades.

As the barricades slowed them down, Daylen took the opportunity to summon an inferno slightly ahead of the obstructions. The result being that all of the creatures were annihilated before even reaching the group of warriors.

"So why are we here again?" Aedan asked sarcastically.

"To deal with that." Daylen said casually as he pointed towards the even greater number of creatures who were now overwhelming the barricades and making their way towards them. He quickly hurled a fireball into the mass of ghoulish monstrosities as he and the others advanced on them.

With so many allies close by engaging the creatures, Daylen had to be cautious of what spells to use, friendly fire was a very real danger in this fight. He quickly enchanted everyone's weapons with fire before stunning the horde with a mind blast. Afterwards he transformed into a bear and dove into the fray, destroying several of the undead attackers rather quickly. The others followed suit and tore through the creatures with ease. The greatest threat was clearly the sheer number of walking corpses that continued to pour from the cliffs. After awhile, Daylen returned to human form and used an inferno spell at a choke point before the barricades and followed up with a tempest spell. The combined might of both spells destroyed any further incursions while Daylen's group finished off what remained of the creatures who'd made it through. Afterwards, it appeared that they'd been successful, there were no more corpses appearing and the men were definitely relieved.

"Casualties?" Daylen asked.

"None. Everyone's accounted for, not that I'm surprised. You destroyed half these things yourself." Aedan said while grinning.

"Yeah, well I'm just trying to win another sovereign off Duran. It's a tradition at this point." Daylen joked.

As they both laughed as a militiaman approached from the town. "They're attacking from the shore!" he shouted frantically.

"Alright! Aedan you and the others stay here and keep this area secure! I'll head to the village and lend a hand!" Daylen said before shifting into the form of a wolf and quickly sprinting to the village. As he arrived he could see scattered skirmishes everywhere, fortunately the militiamen weren't under attack and Daylen aimed to keep it that way. He returned to human form once more and enchanted everyone's weapons with fire. He then sent lightning bolts at every corpse he saw, leaving a trail of fallen bodies as he advanced towards the center of the fighting.

Unsurprisingly, Duran was fighting nearly a dozen of the creatures alone. Daylen quickly hurled a fireball destroying a mob of the creatures who'd been advancing his left flank. "I saw them!" Duran yelled.

"Sure you did!" Daylen responded with a grin.

Neria's glyphs were proving to be invaluable in the battle as she sealed the creatures' movements and isolated mobs before they could converge and become more dangerous. She had also cast haste on everyone, but the strain that it placed on her was starting to show.

"And she calls me reckless." Daylen muttered to himself.

Fortunately, Theron had taken a rather advantageous spot on a nearby slope and was providing superb cover for her. Not a single straggler made it within striking distance of Neria and Theron was clearly determined to keep it that way.

Elissa, Alistair, and Dog were holding the line at one of the paths that led to the shore while Wynne reinforced them with castings of heroic offense and group heal when necessary. Meanwhile, Darrian and Natia were ambushing and backstabbing invaders at another pathway while Leliana laid down cover fire with her bow and Morrigan threw out hexes and lightning. As well as they were all doing, Daylen knew that the conflict couldn't continue for much longer, their endurance simply wouldn't permit it.

Eventually, they all got a breather when Daylen destroyed the final wave with a fireball. He quickly gathered everyone afterwards to formulate a strategy. "Good work, everyone." Daylen congratulated as they all gathered at the outer perimeter of the Chantry.

"A little early for that, isn't it? There's no end to the sodding bastards!" Duran said as he caught his breath.

"Daylen, we can't keep this up for much longer." Neria said as she wiped the sweat from her face.

"I know Neria. The root of the problem is that they're gathering at the shore and then converging in the village. I aim to put a stop to that right now." Daylen said seriously.

"How? Not even you can summon something strong enough to clear that many blighters at once." Natia responded.

Daylen simply grinned before facing Morrigan. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Of course." she said in a matter of fact tone.

Afterwards Daylen activated spell might as he and Morrigan made their way towards the shore of Lake Calenhad with the others following closely. They stopped a fair distance while surveying the already massing horde of walking dead. "Everyone stay as far back as possible!" Daylen ordered. Morrigan then cast a blizzard spell which confused the others. Daylen had made it fairly clear earlier that day that ice and nature based attacks would be of minimal use against the creatures. Daylen then summoned a tempest which immediately combined with Morrigan's blizzard, creating some kind of super storm.

The result was immediate and terrifying as a massive cyclone tore through the horde of creatures while an immense lightning storm added to the carnage. The storm continued its destruction as more of the undead were sucked into it and obliterated. Eventually, the storm finally dissipated at which point the threat of further incursions had long passed. The shore was littered with dozens upon dozens of corpses and Daylen's companions were simply stunned.

"Alright, we're done here." he said casually before turning and making his way back towards the Chantry with Morrigan in tow. Neria and Wynne quickly followed, although they too were impressed by the sight, they were also familiar with what they'd just witnessed. It took the others slightly longer to tear themselves away from the scene and catch up.

"What in the sodding hell..." Duran finally managed.

"Storm of the Century, it's a really powerful spell combination." Neria quickly explained. "It's the result of combining two storm spells when one has been amplified with spell might." she added.

"It's also quite potent and dangerous for anyone who is unfortunate enough to get caught in it." Wynne said wisely.

"You don't say!" Natia replied sarcastically.

"It's certainly not a trick to be used at parties." Wynne added humorously.

"I suppose I should be glad that you didn't take it upon yourself to summon it by yourself Daylen, the strain would likely do more than exhaust you." Neria remarked as she looked at Daylen.

"I knew you'd chew me out if I even considered it, that's why I've been practicing with Morrigan." Daylen responded casually.

"Indeed, we work quite well together, I think." Morrigan added while glancing at Elissa who despite her best efforts, found herself quite jealous of what the pair had just accomplished together.

As dawn arrived, Bann Teagan congratulated everyone on a job well done and extended a special thanks to the young wardens for their efforts. There were no casualties and with all of the undead dealt with, they could now make their way inside the castle to discover the arl's status. He also offered them an enchanted helmet that had been in his family for generations as a gift for their service. Aedan, Alistair, and Duran decided to draw straws to see who'd get to keep it and Aedan won.

"Don't let it go to your head." Daylen joked.

"Oh, that was terrible! You my friend are losing your touch." Aedan replied while grinning.

Bann Teagan had agreed to lead the group into Redcliffe castle and was awaiting them outside the windmill near the entrance to the village. Before leaving they decided to check on all of the survivors and civilians. Kaitlyn was pleased to announce that with the money Daylen had paid for her family's sword, she and Bevin would be able to make their way to their relatives in Denerim. Murdock was just grateful to be alive as was the young lookout, Thomas. The whole experience reminded Dwyn about why he left Orzammar, while Duran scowled at him. That just left Aedan with one final promise to keep as they made their way to the tavern.

"So listen, I kind of need a favor." Aedan said as they ascended the hill to the tavern.

"I'm just going to love this aren't I?" Daylen asked sarcastically.

"Loan me a few sovereigns, will you?" Aedan asked.

"And what pray tell for?" Daylen asked curiously.

"He promised a young woman who works here that he'd help her escape her current predicament." Theron replied calmly.

"Do you still think I'm the one who throws away money?" Daylen asked as he glanced at Morrigan.

"Fools of a feather." she responded teasingly.

"You do realize that we're fighting a Blight? That we're under constant need of supplies? That making upgrades to weapons and armor is a necessity? That this necessity isn't cheap? That-"

"Alright, I get it! I'll replace what I borrow after doing a few jobs from the Chanter's Board. So come on." Aedan pleaded.

"I don't know, Elissa what do you think?" Daylen asked while grinning as he turned to face Elissa. She appeared to be slightly distracted.

"What? Oh, let him have it just this once. But make sure you charge him interest." she replied while smiling.

"My own sister can't cut me a break!" Aedan said incredulously.

"Apparently not, now how much do you need?" Daylen asked while laughing.

After securing the sovereigns from Daylen, Aedan made his way inside the tavern followed by his companions who were eager to observe the scene. Before approaching the young barmaid, Aedan was ambushed by Lloyd the bartender who was eager to express his thanks for forcing him to fight. He now had the respect of the militiamen and offered Aedan a magic ring as thanks. Aedan accepted the gift before making his way to Bella. After exchanging pleasantries with her and presenting her with the five sovereigns that she could use to leave Redlciffe with, Aedan was treated to a rather passionate kiss of gratitude. Afterwards the young woman announced her plans to head to Denerim and expressed her hopes that they'd meet again.

"What is it with you and redheads? Daylen asked while grinning as his friend returned.

"You know, you might want to keep an eye on him Duran. In case he tries to put the moves on Natia." Alistair joked.

They all laughed as they made their way outside, well everyone except Leliana. "I really hope you have a plan for getting back in her good graces." Daylen whispered.

"Well I-No wait! Grace, hang on a minute." Aedan said as he withdrew a rather unusual flower from his pack and slunk into the rear of the group to talk with Leliana.

"Well the man does have a plan I suppose." Daylen chuckled as they continued to the windmill.

Bann Teagan welcomed them as they arrived. "I'm glad you made it, there is much to explain. There is a secret passage inside the windmill that leads into the castle's basement. My ring can open that passage."

"So why exactly didn't you tell us about this in the first place?" Darrian asked angrily.

"He needed us to secure the village. He probably assumed that we'd head straight for the castle and he couldn't risk the villagers getting killed. Deceitful, but understandable." Daylen said wisely.

"It is as you say. But now I am prepared to-"

"Teagan!" The bann was suddenly cut off by the arrival of a woman accompanied by two guards who had sprinted from the gates leading to the castle.

"Isolde?! What are you doing here? What's happened at the castle?"

"It is terrible Teagan! I came as soon as the fighting was over! Something dark has taken the castle and it has Connor!"

"What?! What about Eamon? Does he still live?" Bann Teagan asked desperately.

"For now, yes. The creature keeps us alive, although I don't know why. Please Teagan, you must come with me! Connor needs you!"

"Sorry to cut in here, but what? You want him to go alone into a confirmed haven of undead and unnatural horrors just because you asked?" Aedan asked incredulously.

"Don't worry I'm sure this isn't a trap or anything, really." Daylen added sarcastically.

"Excuse me?" the woman responded indignantly.

"Hello, Arlessa." Alistair greeted.

"Alistair? What are you doing here?" the arlessa asked scathingly.

"He's a Grey Warden Isolde and so are his friends." Bann Teagan explained.

"Forgive me, I'm-"

"Arlessa Isolde, yeah we got that. Exactly what the hell is going on up at the castle?" Daylen cut in.

"It all started when a mage slipped into the castle posing as a servant and attempted to poison Eamon. After that these creatures started to show up and a dark presence took hold of the castle." the arlessa explained. "Please Teagan, you must come with me. It allowed me to come and get you, if you don't return with me..."

Bann Teagan took a moment to think before facing the arlessa. "Very well Isolde, I shall accompany you back to the castle. Please wait for me by the gate."

"Thank you Teagan! Please, hurry!" she said before departing.

"You're not making our lives any easier Bann Teagan." Daylen said seriously.

"We can't let him walk in there alone Daylen!" Neria added.

"Listen, I have no idea what awaits me inside the castle but I don't intend to face it without a plan. I will go with Isolde while you take my ring and use the secret passage. With any luck, I can distract whatever is inside while you get to Eamon. He is all that matters. Isolde, Connor and myself are all expendable. Please give me your word that you'll do this." Bann Teagan asked seriously.

Daylen took a moment to think before facing the bann. "Alright, you can count on us."

"Thank you, the maker smiled on Redcliffe when he sent you here. Once you make it to the courtyard you can open the gates to allow Ser Perth and his men to join you. Now I must be off." Bann Teagan said before departing.

"We're really going to let that guy walk into this alone?" Duran asked.

"We don't have much of a choice. Everything about this situation is off and the arlessa didn't help by withholding information." Daylen said seriously.

"We all picked up on this one Daylen." Natia added.

"Why would she hide anything?" Elissa asked.

"I don't know, but I aim to find out. I'll take a small group through the secret passage. Meanwhile, everyone else can join Ser Perth and rendezvous with us in the courtyard." Daylen explained.

"Sounds like a plan." Duran replied.

Daylen decided to bring Elissa, Neria, Aedan and Natia with him into the passageway. It wasn't long before they found themselves in the dungeons of Castle Redcliffe. As Daylen incinerated several corpses that attacked them, they were alerted to someone being held in one of the cells. As they approached the cell, Daylen's eyes quickly filled with fury.

"YOU!" he yelled. Standing before them was the battered and bloodied form of Jowan, a man that Daylen once called friend.

"Daylen! What a joke this is. Of all the people who could see me like this right now it had to be you." he responded bitterly.

"Jowan! What are you doing here?" Neria asked, completely shocked.

"Great, Neria's here too." Jowan added in a cynical tone.

"A friend of yours I take it?" Aedan asked.

"No." Daylen responded coldly. "Well it's all starting to make sense now. I'm guessing you're the mage that poisoned the arl. So what's your excuse this time, the blood magic made you do it?" Daylen said mockingly.

"Oh haha. You have no idea what I've been through, so don't you dare condescend towards me!" Jowan shouted.

"I know that you brought it all on yourself, so save your sob stories for someone who gives a damn!" Daylen yelled back as he got closer to the bars of Jowan's cell.

The tension in the small dungeon was thick as Elissa, Aedan and Natia exchanged looks of confusion. None of them had ever seen Daylen this angry before, not even at the tower. It was clear that whoever this Jowan was, Daylen held a great deal of hatred for him.

"Jowan, are you responsible for the undead in the castle?" Neria asked quietly, finally breaking the silence.

Jowan turned and sat in his cell before releasing a sigh. "I had nothing to do with those creatures showing up. I was hired by Teyrn Loghain to poison Arl Eamon. Loghain promised to convince the circle to allow me to return. He said that the arl was a danger to Ferelden, so I went along with his plan." Jowan explained.

"Jowan, what have you done?" Neria asked in a hushed voice.

"The same thing he's always done Neria, acted on his own cowardice! You think Loghain gives a damn about you! That his word is worth anything! Do you even know what's happened at the tower since you've been gone?! As if they'd let a blood mage return, even a pathetic, half-assed one like you!" Daylen yelled, his voice seemingly shaking the entire dungeon.

"I wanted to go home alright! I was tired of running! I had my doubts about what Loghain said the moment I met the arl. He seemed like a decent man, but I went through with it anyway. I just wanted to go home..." Jowan said wearily.

"But it's not your home anymore, Jowan" Daylen responded coldly.

There was silence yet again. "How did you sneak in as a servant?" Neria finally asked quietly.

"The arl's son, Connor, is a mage. The arlessa was trying to discreetly hire an apostate to teach him in secret so that he could remain hidden from the circle. The arl didn't even know. She's a pious woman and I'm fairly certain she despises magic. Having her son be a mage probably caused no end to her shame." Jowan replied.

Everything started to make sense in that moment for Daylen, he understood what had happened. After piecing it all together he looked down at Jowan once more.

"Daylen, we don't owe each other anything but can you tell me what happened to Lily?" Jowan pleaded.

"We aren't sure, but they probably sent her to Aeonar." Daylen responded.

"My poor Lily, suffering because of what I've done." Jowan lamented quietly.

"Jowan, how did you get those injuries?" Neria asked even more quietly than before.

"After the creatures began showing up the arlessa had me tortured, she was convinced that I'd unleashed demons upon her family and demanded that I reverse what I'd done. I thought she meant my poisoning of the arl. Nothing I said could satisfy her, so she had me locked up down here to rot." Jowan explained.

"Let's get going." Daylen said after awhile.

"Wait! Let me set this right Daylen! Everything I've done up until now has been a mess, but the least I can do is try to set this right." Jowan pleaded.

"Your indirectly responsible for this entire disaster. You poisoning the arl set everything in motion. I should kill you where you stand." Daylen said as he closed in on Jowan while his hand crackled with lightning. Moments later Neria grabbed his other hand.

"No Daylen! Let the arl or his family decide his fate. We have other things to worry about." she said desperately as she pulled Daylen back. Daylen turned to face her and saw the pleading in her eyes. He finally relented and turned to face Jowan once more.

"Goodbye." he said before heading towards the dungeons' exit. There was quiet as the group climbed the stairs out of the dungeon. "So what do you think happened Daylen?" Neria asked quietly as they ascended the stairs.

"When Jowan poisoned the arl, Connor probably cut a deal with a demon to save his life. If that's the case then he's probably become an abomination. That would explain the walking corpses and the arlessa's reluctance to share details." Daylen explained quietly.

"Then that means..." Neria couldn't even finish the thought.

"Nothing is certain yet Neria. For now we'll confirm things for ourselves." Daylen said calmly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He understood her anxiety, he didn't enjoy the thought of possibly having to kill a child and as they continued to climb the stairs out of the dungeon, he couldn't help but think that perhaps that was exactly what they'd have to do.


	24. Chapter 24: His Choice

Chapter 24: His Choice

As the group made their way onto the first floor of the castle there was an uneasy silence that lingered not just among them, but also the castle itself. Daylen's revelation that the arl's son might be an abomination was unsettling to say the least, but there was also the turmoil that Daylen himself was engrossed in. Elissa in particular wanted to know what it was that troubled him and why he seemed to hate the mage called Jowan so much. There were so many things that were obviously troubling him right now and he was clearly trying to shoulder everything on his own as usual. Before she could ask him about any of it though, the group was promptly attacked by more walking corpses. Daylen quickly enchanted everyone's weapons with fire and within moments the creatures were no more.

As they continued through the castle, they eventually discovered the missing daughter of the town's blacksmith. Though terrified and exhausted, she was safe. After directing her to the passageway in the basement, the party continued to another cellar that led to the courtyard. After arriving in the castle's courtyard they were met with even more undead attackers, but this time they were joined by an even more dangerous foe.

"Dammit, it's a Revenant! Elissa, Natia you two deal with the corpses! Aedan, Neria and I will handle this thing! Move!" Daylen ordered.

Elissa and Natia quickly set to work cutting down the walking corpses while Daylen, Aedan and Neria faced the Revenant. "Aedan, these things excel in close combat so be careful. Neria and I will try to give you an edge and I'll back you up when I see an opening." Daylen explained cautiously. Aedan nodded as he advanced on the creature who was already prepared with its own sword and shield. Neria quickly casted haste while Daylen enchanted Aedan's sword with telekinetic energy. Afterwards he hurled a fireball at the fiend to weaken it.

The battle quickly escalated as the creature engaged Aedan in a furious duel and even with the enchantments it was proving to be a grueling battle. Both Daylen and Neria were pummeling the creature with arcane bolts and stonefist spells and while they were clearly harming the creature, they weren't distracting it from its target. The Revenant eventually caught Aedan off guard with a double strike with its sword, knocking him to ground. It then quickly turned its attention to Daylen and pulled him towards it with telekinesis.

"Daylen!" Neria shouted as he went soaring towards the creature who was eagerly awaiting the moment to cut him down.

Moments before the fiend's blade could make contact however, Daylen's body erupted into a swarm of insects that quickly confused and ravaged the creature. The swarm then materialized into the form of Daylen behind the creature, who immediately released a jet of flames that engulfed the beast. Neria quickly took advantage of the opening and summoned a paralysis glyph that immobilized the Revenant. Aedan followed through and beheaded the creature and moments later the battle was over.

The party took a moment to rest as they looked down at the defeated form of the Revenant. "So what was this thing?" Aedan asked as he caught his breath.

"The corpse of a warrior possessed by a pride or desire demon." Daylen replied as he too caught his breath.

"So it's like the warrior version of an arcane horror?" Elissa asked quietly.

"Yeah. Hopefully there aren't any more of these things roaming about." Daylen added seriously.

Afterwards, the group opened the gate allowing the others to join them in the courtyard. "Damn! Why do you get all the good fights?" Duran complained as he examined the Revenant's corpse.

"Feel free to take my place next time." Aedan joked.

"So I'm guessing you all saw our little rumble?" Natia asked.

"It would have been difficult to miss considering our proximity to the gate." Theron replied.

"You handled yourself well, you seem to have adapted to using the forms quite effectively." Morrigan said as she faced Daylen. Elissa once again found herself struggling not to get jealous. It was quite difficult considering the fact that it was Morrigan's lessons that had just saved Daylen's life.

"What can I say? I had a good teacher." Daylen responded with a grin as Morrigan did the same.

"Damn her!" Elissa thought as she eyed the witch.

"Well, we'd better head inside. I'm hoping that we won't find what I'm expecting." Daylen said after turning to the castle's main entrance. Everyone with the exception of Aedan, Elissa, Neria and Natia appeared quite confused.

As everyone entered the meeting hall of the castle they were greeted with a scene that can only be described as bizarre. Standing before them were the arlessa, who appeared deeply troubled, Connor whose eyes clearly housed a malevolent presence and Ban Teagan who was acting like a complete fool, literally. They were also surrounded by several guards who were clearly puppets of whatever it was that possessed Connor at the moment.

"Dammit!" Daylen muttered while Neria shook her head sadly at the sight.

"So these are our guests, the ones you told me about mother?" Connor said in voice that was clearly not his own.

"Y-Yes Connor." the arlessa replied nervously.

"And these are the ones who defeated my soldiers, the ones I sent to reclaim my village." Connor added.

"Enough! I'm giving you one chance right now demon, leave the boy while you still have the chance! Whatever bargain he made is void!" Daylen shouted.

"It was a fair deal! The father is still alive and now I can sit on the thrown and send armies to war!" Connor yelled.

"Connor please stop this!" the arlessa pleaded.

"Mother, what's going on?" Connor responded in a voice that was clearly his own, at least for the moment.

"Connor! Thank the maker! Can you hear me?" the arlessa asked desperately.

"I hear you just fine foul woman! Now get away from me!" Connor responded, the malevolent presence having returned once more. "And as for you, you'll all pay for spoiling my fun and saving that village!"

Connor then made his escape while the possessed guards and Bann Teagan attacked. Daylen quickly released a mind blast that stunned them all while his companions dealt with the guards. Neria cast a sleeping spell on Bann Teagan to prevent him from getting hurt during the chaos. After the skirmish was over she quickly attended to him as he regained his senses.

"Teagan! Are you alright?" the arlessa asked.

"I am alright...I am now anyway." the bann responded, still shaken.

"I see now. This is what you were afraid of discovering Daylen." Wynne said quietly.

"So the child has become an abomination? One must wonder how this turn events occurred." Morrigan mused.

Daylen quickly explained what he learned after encountering Jowan in the dungeons.

"What does this mean?" Leliana asked quietly after his explanation.

"We all know what this means." Duran replied solemnly.

"The child must die." Sten added simply.

"NO! You can't! Connor isn't always the demon! You saw for yourself!" the arlessa shouted in a panic.

"Your protecting him is what led to this mess in the first place. Did Eamon really not know?" Bann Teagan asked.

"Eamon knew nothing. If he had discovered that Connor had magic he would have insisted on 'doing the right' and I wasn't going to lose my son to MAGIC!" the arlessa replied bitterly.

"It's a shame you and my mother never met. You'd get along great." Daylen said with a sarcasm that was far colder than his usual mirthful quips. "And now your self-righteous stupidity may have condemned the boy to death! Not to mention all the others who've already fallen because of this madness!" he added angrily.

There was silence as the arlessa cried. "Connor is my nephew, but he's an abomination now. If you must..." the bann couldn't finish.

"NO! We can't kill a child!" Leliana shouted desperately.

"Normally I wouldn't be in favor of such an action...but the boy is an abomination and we can't let this continue." Alistair added sadly.

"There has to be some other way. We can't just murder the boy." Aedan responded quietly.

"The mage in the dungeons! He started all of this! Maybe he can help." the arlessa finally interjected.

"It was his cowardice that set all of this in motion, along with Loghain's scheming and your stupidity. Nothing he says can be trusted and given what's happened I'd advise against it." Daylen replied coldly.

"I'd have to agree, there's no telling what he'd say in order to save himself." Bann Teagan added.

"Dammit! It'll get ugly no matter how we go about it!" Natia said.

"Do you propose we allow the child to continue his rampage?" Darrian asked derisively.

"Darrian, we can't consider this!" Neria shouted.

"Neria...we don't have a choice." he responded quietly.

Eventually all of his companions began debating their next course of action as Daylen himself stared into the fireplace that illuminated the chamber where they were all arguing. He could still remember how his own mother had reacted when started to show signs. Well at least Connor's mother still cared for him at least. He sighed as a familiar hand gently grabbed his. He didn't need to turn around to recognize it as Elissa's.

"Is there really no other way?" she whispered.

Daylen turned to face her and gently caressed her cheek. "Maybe." he responded before turning his attention to his still arguing companions. "All of you listen! I'm leaving for a few hours, if Connor makes a move while I'm gone then...finish it." Daylen said solemnly.

"Where are you going?" Neria asked.

"To hopefully secure an alternative to punishing a child for the mistakes of his elders." Daylen said before transforming into a bird and taking off outside a nearby window.

Several hours later Daylen returned with Irving and several mages from the tower who were also carrying a substantial amount of lyrium. As they entered, both Neria and Wynne smiled as comprehension dawned on their faces.

"Daylen, of course!" Neria said excitedly as she hugged him.

"Is anyone going to bother explaining things to the rest of us?" Aedan asked.

"It will be possible to free the boy of the demon by entering the fade and confronting the creature there. Doing so requires several mages and a large amount of lyrium, both of which we now have thanks to Daylen." Wynne said as she continued to smile at Daylen.

Several sighs of relief filled the room as everyone congratulated Daylen on coming up with such a bold but infinitely preferable solution. "Yeah, well it's not over yet. I still have to enter the fade and destroy the demon." Daylen said seriously.

"I'm not worried, Connor couldn't be in better hands." Neria replied as she smiled at Daylen.

"I agree. Daylen, we are ready to proceed whenever you are." Irving added.

Daylen nodded and began the preparations. Later he found himself in the familiar realm of the fade. As he made his way forward he noticed Arl Eamon trapped inside a dream, calling for his son. "We'll get to you eventually arl." he quietly said to himself. As he continued to navigate he fought through several traps set by a desire demon. "Figures," he muttered after banishing another set of decoys deployed by the demon. He eventually made his way to the demon's inner sanctum where she awaited him.

"So, you managed to venture this far." she said calmly. "This is my realm and I am at my most powerful here, but I have no desire to battle you." she added.

"Let me guess, this is the part where you try to cut a deal with me. Well let me save you the trouble, I want nothing you offer. I'm here to kill you and free the boy. End of story." Daylen said resolutely.

"Such a shame for one so handsome to throw his life away, oh well." she responded before cloning herself and attacking.

"Two can play that game demon!" Daylen announced before once again transforming into a swarm of insects that proceeded to wreak havoc on the clones.

As they faltered under the assault, the desire demon eventually returned to a singular form at which point Daylen did the same. He quickly hit her with a crushing prison spell and blasted her with a stream of lightning for good measure. As the creature fell to her knees in defeat, she once again tried her hand at tempting Daylen.

"I can give you power, knowledge, pleasure, whatever you desire." she pleaded in a still alluring voice.

Without hesitation, Daylen finished her off with a stonefist spell. "No you can't. And even if you could, I'd still refuse. Anything I can't earn myself is meaningless." he said as he began to experience the familiar sensation of waking from the fade.

As morning dawned on the castle, those who remained within could scarcely believe what had transpired inside just a few hours before. Connor was once again the happy, playful child he was before and all remnants of the demon had been wiped from his mind.

"Connor doesn't seem to remember anything about before. I guess we should thank the maker for small blessings." Bann Teagan said while facing Daylen and Aedan while Neria and Wynne examined the arl. "I suppose once this is all over, he'll have to be sent to the circle for training. It's still strange to think of the boy as a mage of all things." he added.

"Yeah, imagine that." Daylen responded coldly before proceeding to leave the arl's room.

"I meant no offense." the bann said defensively as he faced Aedan.

"Maybe not, but offense was taken and not just by Daylen. My best friend happens to be a mage, a mage who just saved not only your nephew but all of Redcliffe. I suggest you remember that." Aedan replied angrily.

He then shifted his focus to Neria and Wynne. "So how does it look?"

"Whatever the demon did is keeping him alive, but we can't wake him. I'm afraid his condition is beyond our ability to heal." Neria replied sadly.

"The urn! The Urn of Sacred Ashes can heal Eamon!" the arlessa cut in excitedly.

"Great. Daylen's gonna love this." Aedan said while sighing.

Meanwhile, Daylen found himself sitting on the front steps of the castle lost in thought. He barely noticed Elissa take a seat beside him and continued staring at the sky as she scooted closer to him. "Neria told me about what happened with Jowan." she finally said quietly as she looked at him.

"He was stupid and look where it got him. No, correction look where it got everyone in Redcliffe." Daylen replied bitterly.

"Daylen, what's wrong? I know something's bothering you." she said. She'd been worrying about him for awhile now, ever since they met Jowan in the dungeons.

"Nothing, I'm fine so don't worry." Daylen said dismissively.

"No, you're not! So stop trying to carry everything on your own! Everyone here is ready shoulder some of the burden. And..." she said as she faced him. "And don't shut me out. If nothing else, I want you share some of the burden with me." she added quietly.

Daylen sighed after awhile and took her into his arms. "I'm tired Elissa. Tired of cleaning up the messes left by other mages, tired of the stigma we all get because of them and right now tired of the whole damn world." Daylen said wearily.

There was silence for awhile as she caressed his chest. "Then don't worry about it." she finally replied. "You're Daylen Amell, a mage of the Ferelden Circle of Magi and a Grey Warden. You're also our leader and the man I love, nothing you do is short of amazing and if the world can't recognize that or the fact that there are other great mages out there, then to hell with the world." she said defiantly.

Daylen looked at her for a moment before smiling. "Zevran was right, my girlfriend is phenomenal." he chuckled.

"And don't you forget it." she replied while smiling.

They continued to stare at the sky before Daylen spoke again. "After my parents found out about my magic they were disgusted with me, especially my mother. I'll never forget the look of revulsion she gave me as the templars led me away."

"Daylen..." Elissa wrapped her arms around him as he spoke.

"For a long time I didn't want to meet anyone from my old life, especially you and Aedan. The thought that either of you might be repulsed by me-"

Elissa quickly kissed him, she put all of her feelings into it. As they parted she stared into his piercing blue eyes, eyes that had lingered in her heart since she was a girl. "Never." she said as he stared back at her.

"Like I said, phenomenal." Daylen replied as the couple bathed in the early morning rays of sun that were now filtering into the courtyard.


	25. Chapter 25: The Next Move

Chapter 25: The Next Move

"Is this really our only option?" Daylen asked as he faced his group of companions.

The young Wardens and their allies were once again holding a meeting at their campsite. After the events in Redcliffe, they were all eager to plan their next course of action.

"Daylen, the arl's condition is beyond any conventional healing techniques and if he doesn't wake we won't have any hope of challenging Loghain." Neria replied.

"What Neria says is true Daylen, although the arl appears to be stable we have no means of restoring him to consciousness." Wynne added.

"So, we are reduced to chasing fairy tales now are we?" Morrigan said mockingly.

"Just because you don't have any faith doesn't mean the ashes don't exist." Leliana replied angrily.

"Even if they do, how are we supposed to find what Chantry scholars have spent centuries searching for?" Alistair added.

"Apparently this Brother Genitivi that the arlessa spoke of may have discovered a lead." Aedan replied. "If we head to Denerim and search for his home, we can question him and decide for ourselves whether it's worth pursuing."

"You do realize this is sounding more and more like a wild goose chase?" Daylen mused.

"I agree." Sten added.

"Well I think we should at least try." Leliana persisted.

"Of course you do, but I'd suggest our actions not be dictated by a bard turned Chantry sister who's looking for some ridiculous notion of redemption." Morrigan replied.

Leliana immediately began staring daggers at her and for a moment Daylen thought he might have to step in to prevent a physical altercation. As the two women continued eyeing each other, Daylen took the opportunity to clear his throat.

"Before I even consider this, I think we should get another treaty under our belts. At least we know they exist and I'd feel a lot better knowing we had another army standing with us." Daylen said.

"Sounds good to me, the more direct support we have to fight the Blight the better." Duran added.

"Have you decided which treaty to pursue next?" Theron asked.

"Yes. I still think Orzammar is going to be our toughest one, so I've decided to seek out the Dalish. After we get their support we'll head to Denerim and look into this Brother Genitivi business." Daylen explained.

Everyone took a moment to voice their agreement before turning their attention back to Daylen. "Theron, I want you to head out and begin tracking any Dalish movements that you can find in the Brecilian Forest. Once you pick up the trail of one the clans and identify where they're camped, return here and we'll plan our next move from there." Daylen said as he faced the Dalish warrior. "We may have moved camp by then, but I trust you'll find us easy enough with your skills." he added with a grin.

"I understand, I'll set off immediately." Theron replied calmly.

"Wait! Daylen, you're sending him alone? What if he gets attacked?" Neria asked in a rather concerned tone.

"Neria, Theron is our best tracker and he knows how the Dalish operate. He'll move faster by himself. He'll also be traveling through the wilderness and we all know that no one gets the drop on Theron in the forest." Daylen said confidently.

"But-"

"Neria, it's fine. Everything Daylen said is true and I have no intention of failing, especially after he's placed such trust in me." Theron said reassuringly.

"Alright, then it's settled. Meeting dismissed." Daylen said. Afterwards everyone began heading to separate areas of the camp. Neria made sure to shoot Daylen an angry look before sprinting after Theron.

"Lovely." he said as he stretched in front of the campfire while Elissa took the opportunity to lay across his chest.

"You do realize that she's going to be upset with you until he gets back, right?" Elissa teased.

"This will be good for her, both of them actually." Daylen replied while grinning.

"What exactly is going through that devious mind of yours now?" Elissa asked playfully as she ran her fingers across his cheek.

"At the moment, thoughts of you that could very likely lead Aedan to murder me if he were preview to them." Daylen said as he kissed her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Leliana said as she approached the couple.

"Not at all, but if you were hoping to join us I'd have to voice my objection. I mean I'd be fine with it personally, but Aedan would probably-"

Daylen was suddenly cut off by a rather sharp punch to the arm from Elissa. He laughed at the look of playful outrage on her face before sitting up to speak with Leliana.

"So what can I do for you?" he asked politely.

"I was just wondering, you don't seem to be very religious. In fact, you don't seem to like the Chantry at all. You're Aedan's best friend and he speaks very highly of you. You're also a wonderful friend and a great leader, it just seems strange to me that-"

"That I'm a decent human being, despite not being a follower of the Chantry." Daylen finished for her.

"I didn't mean it that way. I simply think that the Chantry could benefit a great deal if more people like you were counted among its followers." Leliana replied.

"I'm sure there are plenty of good people who already follow the Chantry, but unfortunately they don't hold any positions of authority and the people who run things now aren't exactly what I'd consider to be 'decent' by any stretch of the word." Daylen said as he faced Leliana."And as for me, I choose to help people for the same reason that I fight to protect my friends and loved ones, because I want to. I don't need a religious mandate to tell me how to be a good person. I'll be as lousy or virtuous as I want because it's my choice."

"I see. It's strange, Wynne said something similar to me when I asked her about her faith." Leliana replied.

"Yeah, Wynne is pretty set in her ways." Daylen laughed. "I can only imagine what Morrigan would have said to you." he added as he continued to laugh.

Leliana suddenly got quiet as she stared into the fire. "You didn't?!" Daylen asked incredulously.

"Well, I'm not even going bother asking how that went." Daylen added while grinning.

"I hope she wasn't too much of a bitch towards you Leliana." Elissa said bracingly.

"It's alright, she was just being Morrigan." Leliana replied quietly.

"Well, if you want my perspective, there's also the fact that I'm a mage. That kind of inherently makes me wary of the Chantry. But that's not how it is for everyone, we all have different interpretations and relationships with the Chantry and I'm certainly not going to delve into my own personal views. Anyway, I think you've gotten the gist of how I feel unless there's something else you needed?" Daylen asked.

"No and thank you for taking the time to talk with me Daylen." Leliana said appreciatively.

"Well, I hope I haven't disappointed you too much. I figure it's important for a woman to get along with her boyfriend's best friend." Daylen chuckled.

Leliana blushed slightly before standing to leave. "You haven't disappointed me at all Daylen. In fact, I think now I can better understand why Aedan trusts you. And why Elissa loves you so much." she said while smiling as she left the couple.

"She's a keeper, that one." Daylen said after Leliana had left.

"I hope Aedan doesn't screw things up." Elissa added.

"He won't, trust me." Daylen said reassuringly.

"Well, I guess you'd know better than anyone." Elissa replied as she ran her fingers across his chest.

There was silence as the two of them took in the sight of the stars that were dotting the night sky. Eventually Elissa caught sight of Morrigan in her corner of camp and despite herself, she felt a familiar pang of anxiety.

"So...you've learned all you can from Morrigan now right? There's really no need for you to keep taking lessons from her now." Elissa said in a quiet but less than subtle tone.

Daylen couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. "I can learn how to assume new shapes on my own now, but Morrigan can still teach me how to strengthen them and maximize their potential." he replied.

"Oh." Elissa responded in a disappointed tone.

"You are one impossible woman, you know that?" Daylen teased. "I don't know how much more clear I can make it that you're the one I love." he added before sighing.

"I can't help it! She's obviously attracted to you and she's a mage! There's a part of you that you can share with her that you can't with me and it frustrates the hell out of me!" Elissa responded desperately.

"Elissa there's no part of me that I wouldn't be willing to share with you." Daylen said as he wrapped his arms around her. "You need only ask, milady." he whispered before kissing her. And there it was, that familiar feeling that Daylen could conjure at a moment's notice that completely reassured her.

"No fair using magic." Elissa pouted after they parted moments later. Daylen simply smiled as they returned to their stargazing.

Across the camp Theron was preparing for his journey as swiftly as possible. He knew that it would take him several days to pick up the trail of one of the clans and time was of the essence. Unfortunately, Neria was complicating his departure plans.

"Theron, you don't have to go alone! I know I can convince Daylen to let someone come with you." Neria pleaded.

"Even if you could, I would refuse. The trek will be faster if I'm alone and to be honest, this is how I would prefer it." Theron replied calmly as he gathered his pack.

There was silence for a moment as he continued his preparations. "I guess companions are a burden for you, you have always seemed to prefer being alone. I won't try to argue anymore." Neria said sadly before turning to leave. Before she could however, she felt Theron grab her hand.

"You are wrong. Although I have always been accustomed to wandering the forests alone at my leisure, I do not regret traveling with friends now. And I certainly don't regret traveling with you." Theron said as he stared into Neria's eyes.

Neria could feel herself growing warm and was sure that her face had gone red, she was glad that night had fallen and that darkness could conceal her embarrassment. "I'm glad Theron. Please be careful and hurry back, traveling won't be the same if you aren't here to...it just won't be the same." she said hesitantly.

Theron nodded as a small smile graced his face. He then took Neria's face into both his hands and lowered his head to hers. As his hands gently caressed her cheeks he pressed his forehead to hers. Afterwards, he released her and set off into the night while Neria looked after him. She watched as he disappeared into the darkness, quietly hoping that this wouldn't be the last that she'd see of him.

"I must say, this is getting quite interesting." Zevran commented as he surveyed the scene from across camp. He was currently taking turns playing Wicked Grace with Duran and Natia who'd set up a table near Bodahn and Sandal.

"The wizard is rigging things, not that I'm complaining. Theron being gone means Darrian won't have any obstacles and you beautiful will owe me a sovereign." Duran chuckled as he faced Natia.

"Don't be so sure about that handsome. Daylen's pulling strings alright, but I wouldn't be so sure that it's for your guy." Natia replied coyly.

"So am I to understand that there is coin being wagered on who will gain the affections of the young beauty?" Zevran asked curiously.

"Nearly everyone has a bet going. And if you even think about screwing things up by sniffing around Neria, you may wake up to find two very important parts of your body missing." Neria replied threateningly.

"That would be most unpleasant and also quite cruel to the many women and men who've yet to experience the thrill of my passions." Zevran said in a rather brazen fashion.

"You are one cocky bastard, I'll give you that." Natia said in an almost exhaustive tone.

"And a lucky one, Dammit! The last time I got cleaned out this badly was when I got drunk and played against Daylen." Duran explained angrily.

Both Natia and Zevran laughed before Natia decided to take his place. "I'm warning you pretty boy, I'll be a lot harder to take down."

"That simply means that it will be far more rewarding once I do my dear." Zevran replied in a seductive undertone.

"Then what do you say we make this more interesting?" Natia teased.

"And what did you have in mind?" Zevran responded playfully.

"You're a disciplined killer, trained by the best, right? If I win, you teach me your skills. So how about it?" Natia asked in a flattering tone.

Zevran observed her for a moment before responding. "And what would I get if I were to defeat your loveliness in this contest?" Zevran asked as he gave her a lecherous look.

"I'll let you decide." she replied coyly.

"Now hold on a minute! Natia you can't seriously-"

"Relax handsome. So what do you say?" Natia said as she faced Zevran.

"We have an agreement my dear. This will certainly be entertaining." Zevran responded before laughing.

In another quiet corner of camp, Leliana was currently lost in her own thoughts. Despite that, she recognized Aedan's approach instantly. "Are you alright?" he asked as he took her hands into his own.

"I'm fine Aedan, but to be honest I'll feel much better once I've settled things with her." Leliana replied quietly.

"I still can't believe she had the audacity to come to Ferelden and send assassins after you." Aedan said angrily.

"Yes, if you and Dog hadn't been with me when they attacked...thank you Aedan." she replied softly.

"I'll always be there for you Leliana, if you'll let me." Aedan said as he gazed into her eyes.

"I know and of course I will." she replied as they kissed. Afterwards, he held her in his arms as she hummed a rather beautiful tune that he'd never heard before.

"We'll end this in Denerim, I promise." Aedan whispered. Leliana nodded as she buried herself closer to him.

As Wynne sat outside her tent knitting socks for Daylen and Alistair, she couldn't help but notice the obvious pairings around camp. She'd long ago abandoned the notion of lecturing any of the young Wardens about romantic entanglements, they were after all young and she had to admit watching Daylen and Elissa gave her a rather warm feeling that she'd be remiss in ignoring. She grinned as she continued her work and was pleasantly surprised when Neria sat down with her.

"Trouble Neria?" Wynne asked, although she already knew the answer.

"I'm just worried about a friend, that's all." Neria said quietly. "Oh and I don't meant to dump my concerns on you! You have enough to worry about with..." she couldn't finish.

Recently, she and Daylen had discovered that Wynne was living on borrowed time. Her battle with the demon that attacked Petra had literally killed her and she was now being sustained by a benevolent spirit of the fade. The spirit would eventually have to return to the fade and when it did Wynne would cease living.

"Neria, I thought I explained this clearly to both you and Daylen. I have no regrets and I'm not afraid of facing what's to come. So while I'm still here I want you both to continue to come to me whenever you have a problem that you wish to discuss. Do you understand?" Wynne said gently as she faced Neria.

"Yes, thank you Wynne. It just seems selfish to trouble you." Neria replied quietly.

"Sometimes being young means being selfish. But for what it's worth, I've never felt burdened by chatting with either you or Daylen. So please feel free to share your concerns with me." Wynne said warmly.

"It's just that, the whole world is our enemy right now. I know that's an exaggeration, but with the soldiers who are loyal to Loghain, bounty hunters, and assassins hunting us, how can I not be worried about Theron traveling alone? I know the wilderness is his element and that he can handle himself but..." Neria trailed off.

Wynne of course immediately recognized the root of the problem as well as Daylen's likely scheme. She would have to have another long talk with him later about this among other things. For the moment though, she'd have to do what she could to allay Neria's fears.

"Neria, it is true that Theron is a capable young warrior and more than able to look after himself. But I believe his best reason for returning safely is you. He has invested a great deal of time learning what he could about you and I highly doubt that he'd allow himself to be killed before learning more. So, if nothing else please trust in his desire to return for your sake." Wynne said wisely.

Neria couldn't help but smile as she stood. "Thank you, Wynne." she said before hugging the elderly mage and proceeding to her tent.

Alistair arrived shortly afterwards, hoping to have a new pair of socks. "You know, we've all got bets going on those three." he said as he took a seat near Wynne.

"I'm aware and you should all be ashamed of yourselves." Wynne replied sternly.

"Oh come on Wynne, we're young and stupid. We can't help ourselves." he said while grinning.

"Just out of curiosity, who have you placed your bet on?" Wynne asked curiously.

"Darrian, no question. Theron's a nice guy and all but when do nice guys ever get the girl?" Alistair joked.

Wynne couldn't help but smile as she finished the first pair of socks and presented them to Alistair. It seemed to her that wisdom wasn't strictly reserved for the old as she glanced in Daylen's direction.


	26. Chapter 26: Favor for a Friend

Chapter 26: Favor for a Friend

"You have my thanks Kadan." Sten said as he examined the blade that he'd finally been reunited with.

"It was no problem Sten, hell if I'd known Dwyn had it this whole time we could've saved ourselves a lot of leg work." Daylen replied. "Now that you have your sword, you can return to your people right?"

"Yes, but I believe ending the Blight would make for a better conclusion in my report to the Arishok." Sten replied.

"Glad to still have you Sten." Daylen said before heading towards Bodahn's cart.

It had been several days since Theron had left to track the Dalish and Daylen had used that time to bolster his group's resources. Not only had he upgraded everyone's weapons and armor, but he'd also taken the time to do a few odd jobs and cut a few more deals that would increase their finances. After eyeing Bodahn's inventory, he finally decided to buy the Spellward amulet and a set of Imperial Weavers that had caught his attention the moment he saw them when the dwarven merchant had first set up shop in their camp. Along with the Staff of the Magister Lord that he'd recently purchased from the tower and the belt known as Andruil's Blessing, he was fairly certain that he was wielding some of the most powerful magical items in Thedas. Or at the very least Ferelden. Several Days earlier he'd decided to buy all of the pieces to an equipment set known as the Blood Dragon Armor that Aedan seemed quite pleased with as well as a skill book that he'd given to Theron before his departure. The amount of sovereigns that this all amounted to was substantial to say the least, but fortunately he and Natia had already recouped over half of the expenditures thanks to their combined business savvy and willingness to disregard certain scruples for the sake of profit.

"Good old Natia." Daylen thought to himself while grinning as he observed the lovely dwarven rogue as she underwent her new training regiment with Zevran. It was common knowledge now that she'd hustled him in a game of Wicked Grace and as compensation he'd agreed to teach her the skills of an assassin. Daylen chuckled to himself before turning his attention to Morrigan who appeared rather distant, or more distant than usual. He decided to take the opportunity to check on her.

"You can't be that upset that I'm a master shape shifter now. We both knew it was only a matter of time before I surpassed my teacher." Daylen joked.

Morrigan laughed despite herself. "A skilled fool is still a fool, but I will admit your progress has astounded me. And having nothing left to teach you is somewhat disappointing." she said almost sadly.

"So what's bothering you Morrigan? Maybe you assumed no one else would notice, but I'm not everyone else." Daylen said seriously.

"Do you remember the grimoire you gave me, the one that belonged to Flemeth? I have spent the last few weeks studying it and I have uncovered something...most disturbing." Morrigan said hesitantly.

"I can imagine, so what did you find?" Daylen asked.

"The possible origin to all of the stories that mention her having many daughters. Flemeth has indeed had many daughters and lived a very long time, the two facts are connected you see. Once Flemeth grows old and wizened, she raises a daughter whose body she assumes control of after they have reached maturity. This is how she has lived so long and I'm afraid that I am next." Morrigan explained seriously.

Daylen was quite stunned at the revelation. "Wait, then why'd she send you with us?" he asked.

"Most likely so that I could grow more powerful. Apparently the ritual is easier if the individual that she plans to possess is magically powerful. I suppose I should feel honored that she believed me capable of returning alive." Morrigan replied sardonically.

There was silence as Daylen contemplated everything that Morrigan had just told him. "So what do you plan to do? I'd assume you aren't planning to return, not after learning this." Daylen said seriously.

"No, I won't. Furthermore, I've decided that Flemeth must be dealt with and...I require your assistance. I need you to kill Flemeth." Morrigan replied as she faced Daylen.

"Excuse me?" Daylen said incredulously.

"I cannot do it myself, she'd likely take possession of my body the moment I approached and that means I can't accompany you either. I realize what I'm asking is...considerable, but I have no one else to turn to and...I need your help." Morrigan explained quietly.

"Considerable?! Try huge, enormous, or gargantuan. You're not just asking me to kill your mother, you're asking me to challenge one of the most powerful mages in all of Thedas. Damn Morrigan, you really know how to pick your favors." Daylen replied wearily.

"I realize that what I'm asking is no small matter, but Flemeth can be killed. She bleeds and feels pain like any other. With that being said, I do understand the significance of what I'm asking you to do." Morrigan said as she faced Daylen.

Daylen took a long look at Morrigan and considered what she was asking. Attempting to read her was pointless as usual, but he was fairly certain that she was desperate and he did owe her a lot. Her lessons had helped him a great deal and she was a good friend. Despite her protests against several of his decisions, she'd gone along with them and supported him. After awhile, he sighed as he stared back at her.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. This is gonna be one hell of a confrontation." Daylen finally replied.

"Daylen...thank you. There's one more favor I'd like to ask of you" Morrigan said while still gazing at him.

"Sure, why the hell not? May as well lay it all on me while you're at it." he replied in a cynical tone.

"Once you've killed Flemeth, I need you to find her real grimoire and bring it to me. It will help me to better prepare for any future attempts that she could make in possessing my body. Even if you kill her, I am certain she will manage to survive somehow and return someday." Morrigan explained.

"Okay, couple of questions. Real Grimoire? So am I to understand that the other one is a fake? Also, she can die but not really? Morrigan, you do realize who you're talking to right?" Daylen asked seriously.

Morrigan did indeed realize with whom she was speaking. Daylen was no fool, despite her playful jabs that implicated otherwise. He was also the only person she could trust with the current task and the only one who could succeed, of that she was certain.

"I ask that you trust my judgment and me. If you can't, then I suppose we have nothing further to discuss and we shall go our separate ways." Morrigan replied seriously.

Daylen couldn't believe what he was hearing, talk about selfish! He once again found himself considering the situation. Morrigan clearly felt strongly about this, that much was clear and he was once again reminded of all the help she'd been. But the gravity of the situation was still immense and Morrigan's reluctance to clarify the finer details wasn't helping. "Damn her!" he angrily thought to himself.

"You are one infuriating woman Morrigan, but you also happen to be a friend and I owe you a lot. I guess I'll be paying Flemeth a visit tomorrow." he finally said as calmly as he could.

Morrigan nodded her thanks as Daylen left her campsite. He had a lot to think over and not a lot of time to do it. As he made his way to the center of camp, he noticed Aedan laughing with Leliana by the fire with the others.

"Aedan, we need to talk, alone." Daylen said casually as he approached.

Aedan gave him a curious look before getting to his feet and following Daylen to an empty part of the camp. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Just, listen for a minute. Tomorrow I'll be taking a little trip. If I'm not back by nightfall, then assume the worst and take over. Darrian might give you a hard time, but given where we are right now with the treaties and the arl he'll get over it." Daylen said seriously.

"Daylen, what the hell is going on? What is this about?" Aedan asked, shocked by his friend's implication.

"Just promise me you'll take charge and see this all through if I don't return. And...make sure that Elissa understands how much I love her." Daylen added quietly.

Aedan stared at his friend, completely stunned. Wherever he was planning to go, he was clearly prepared to die. Who or what was he planning to fight? After staring at his friend for a few moments longer, he finally relented.

"Alright, I'll handle things Daylen. But I don't like this and if you end up making Elissa cry, best friend or not, I'll hunt you down in the fade myself." Aedan replied seriously.

A small grin briefly appeared on Daylen's face before he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and made his way towards Elissa in the center of camp. As he took a seat by the fire, he immediately wrapped his arms around her.

"So what was that about?" she asked curiously as her brother returned to his place by Leliana and glanced at Daylen across the fire.

"Oh, you know, just discussing how we can spoil you girls a little once we get to Denerim." Daylen replied while grinning.

"Good idea, but maybe you should focus on Neria. She's still mad at you after all." Elissa teased.

The others laughed while Neria turned red. As he looked around at all his friends, Daylen couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last night he'd get to spend with everyone. "Tomorrow's going to be hell." he thought to himself as he held Elissa.

Daylen awoke early the next morning and was careful not to disturb anyone. He couldn't afford having to explain things and he already felt terrible confiding so little to Aedan. But he was determined to handle this himself, after all it was his decision to help Morrigan. As he quietly made his way towards the entrance to camp, he was immediately shocked to discover several figures awaiting him.

"Good Morning." Aedan said casually as he faced Daylen. Standing with him were Alistair, Darrian, Duran and Sten.

"What the hell-"

"Did you really think I'd let you slip off and face whatever the hell you plan on fighting by yourself? Give me some credit Daylen." Aedan cut in.

"When the fool mentioned that you planned to leave him in charge if you died, I had to intervene. Under NO circumstances will I follow Aedan." Darrian said seriously.

"I heard we were all going out for pie, so..." Alistair joked.

"Kadan, I am prepared to follow you into the jaws of death itself." Sten added in his typical stoic demeanor.

"And I'll be damned if I'm going let you hog another good fight. I'm tired of handing you sovereigns." Duran growled.

"Dammit! You idiots have no idea what you're walking into!" Daylen said angrily.

"No, we don't. So why don't you explain it to us." Aedan replied seriously.

Daylen took a good look at them before finally relenting. "I'll explain on the way and don't say I didn't warn you." he said as they left the camp.

Several hours later they found themselves standing in front of the familiar hut of Flemeth who was unsurprisingly awaiting their arrival.

"Of course you're expecting us." Daylen said sarcastically.

"Well, well, it seems Morrigan has finally found someone to dance to her tune." Flemeth mused.

"I don't suppose you could be bothered to dispute her claims? You know what never mind. Let's get this over with Flemeth." Daylen replied casually.

"I suppose you can't be dissuaded then? Such a shame, but it's an old dance that Flemeth knows well. And Flemeth will earn what she keeps." Flemeth said while smiling before calmly walking into the clearing near her hut. What happened next stunned everyone, Flemeth promptly transformed into a high dragon and immediately proceeded to attack.

"She doesn't disappoint, I'll give her that!" Daylen yelled.

"Son of a...and you were planning to fight her alone?!" Aedan replied angrily.

"It's official! The wizard's recklessness now borders on suicidal!" Darrian added.

"Bastard! You were going to leave me out of this?!" Duran shouted.

"I really wish it had been pie." Alistair lamented.

Meanwhile Sten was muttering what the others could only assume to be curses in the qunari language as they all scattered to avoid the barrage of fireballs the beast was firing from its mouth.

Daylen quickly activated spell might and began his assault, he fired lightning and frost spells at the creature while the others closed in and unleashed their own attacks. The beast quickly spun around knocking them all down before taking flight and unleashing a sea of flames across the landscape. As long as it was in the air, it had a distinct advantage, an advantage that Daylen was determined to remove. Daylen quickly trapped the beast in a force field that froze it and as it crashed to the ground he enchanted everyone's weapons with ice. As the force field wore off, Daylen cast a blizzard spell that immediately engulfed the creature. Daylen was counting on the ice hindering the creature's movements and sure enough as the storm wore off, several parts of the beast's body were encased in ice including its wings.

As the dragon roared in rage, Daylen quickly followed up with a crushing prison spell. Several parts of the creature's body that had been frozen began shattering and the beast screamed in pain. The others followed Daylen's lead and closed in while he fired stonefist spells to continue to press the advantage. Unfortunately, the dragon was far from finished and once again released a barrage of fireballs that managed to catch them all off guard, including Darrian who was blasted clear across the clearing and into a nearby boulder. It then proceeded to tear into both Aedan and Alistair with its claws while they barely managed to guard with their shields. The force of the attack sent them both flying and Alistair found himself careening into Flemeth's hut, leaving a rather sizable hole in the wall. Meanwhile Duran took advantage of an opening and slammed his own shield into the beast's snout before following up with an attack with his war ax. The attack connected and tore into one of the creature's eyes while Sten left a devastating wound on the beast's stomach with a swipe of his sword, Asala.

Daylen exploited the moment of the dragon's agony by firing a blast of electricity that added to the damage that both Sten and Duran caused. The beast was beyond enraged now, and literally stomped on Sten before attempting to bite down on Duran who was now trapped between its massive jaws. The monster's teeth brutally tore into Duran who struggled to keep the jaws from clamping down on him. Suddenly a stonefist spell hit the creature in the face forcing it to drop Duran who fell to the ground, hard. As Daylen surveyed the carnage, he realized that he and Aedan were the only ones who were still standing. Aedan had finally managed to get to his feet and make his way towards the creature right before it dropped Duran. Sten and Duran were both down for the count and Daylen knew it, he was desperately hoping they were still alive.

Daylen decided to banish the frost enchantments on the weapons and switch to a telekinetic enchantment. The beast's hide was far too tough and they'd need every edge they could get. As he continued to face down the dragon it suddenly lunged at him face first slamming him into the hut. The force of the attack had definitely broken a few bones and the beast wasn't done yet. It followed up with a slash of its claws that Daylen managed to mostly avoid by erecting an arcane shield. Unfortunately, he couldn't deflect all of the damage and the deep lacerations that now appeared on his upper body were a clear reminder. The dragon was now attempting to bite down on him but before it could, it suddenly released a roar of pain. Aedan had managed to climb onto the beast's back and plunge his sword into it. The creature quickly spun around throwing Aedan to the ground with a fearsome impact and attempted to stomp on him as he laid helpless. Suddenly Alistair appeared from the wreckage of the hut and sank his sword into one of the beast's legs.

There was once again a scream of pain as the creature took a swipe at Alistair who was sent flying on top of Aedan. The dragon began to once again unleash rapid fire blasts that ended up hitting every warrior on the field. Fortunately the blasts were much weaker, as the beast itself was weakening. Daylen was on his own now, his friends had given it their all and he couldn't have asked for more. The beast once again lunged at him, but this time he met it head-on and leapt onto the top of the creature's head. He then unleashed a frost spell at point blank range that sent the creature crashing into a nearby tree. Daylen was thrown from the beast as it crashed and hit the ground far harder than he wanted to, fortunately he'd managed to cast rock armor which absorbed most of the impact. As he got to his feet the dragon was still roaring in pain and struggling to regain its own balance. Daylen quickly summoned a tempest spell that ravaged the beast before it finally fell face first into the ground. Daylen took one final look at it before pulverizing its head with a crushing prison spell. It was over, finally.

Daylen fell to his knees as he examined the area. Aedan was slowly regaining consciousness but he was the only one. Daylen could also feel himself slipping, but he had to remain awake to heal the others. No matter what he owed them that much. As he checked himself he immediately recognized the fact that several of his ribs were broken and he'd also lost a lot of blood from the wounds the beast had left on his torso not to mention the burns. He slowly stood and made his way to the hut where he set to work finding the damned grimoire. After finding and grabbing it from a chest he set to work doing what he could to patch the others up. He'd at least be able to mend everyone enough so that Neria and Wynne could do a proper job once they returned to camp. After healing everyone and doing what he could for himself, he promptly passed out as Aedan caught him.

To say that Elissa was concerned would be a severe understatement and she wasn't the only one. Everyone had awoken that day to discover that most of the men had disappeared and could find no message indicating where they'd gone. As she paced around camp, both Neria and Natia did what they could to calm her down but their own anxieties were clearly evident. The sun was now setting and they still hadn't heard any word from them. As night fell the battered and severely injured forms of Daylen, Aedan, Alistair, Darrian, Duran and Sten hobbled into camp. Aedan was practically dragging Daylen whose weight was being supported by Aedan's right shoulder. Sten was carrying both Duran and Darrian who like Daylen, appeared to be unconscious. Alistair was walking with a noticeable limp and clutching his left shoulder.

"What the hell happened?!" Elissa shouted desperately after dashing to the men and witnessing Daylen's state.

"Not now!" Aedan shouted angrily as he sent an irate glare in Morrigan's direction. "Wynne, Neria, get to work on Daylen, Duran, and Darrian! They got the worst of it! When you're done help Alistair and Sten, I can wait! Hurry!" Aedan demanded. "I can't believe Daylen managed to finish the damn thing off." he added in an exhausted undertone.

Wynne and Neria immediately set to work and several hours later the injured men were stable and resting. If everyone was hoping to get answers after treating them, they were quickly disappointed as Sten remained tightlipped while the others remained unconscious and Alistair simply directed them to Aedan who was steadfastly refusing to speak.

"Aedan! What the hell happened to all of you?! You all disappear for a whole day and come back with broken bones, bruises, cuts, burns and concussions! I haven't seen Daylen this hurt since he fought Uldred and even then it wasn't this bad! I deserve to at least know why and how I almost lost my boyfriend and my brother!" Elissa shouted while on the verge of tears.

"I feel I'm deserving of the truth as well." Leliana added as she approached and held Elissa.

Aedan took a good look at everyone before sighing. He knew that Daylen would've preferred to be the one who explained things, but right now they all deserved answers and Aedan couldn't bear keeping his sister or Leliana in the dark any longer. So he explained what Daylen had told them and recounted their battle with the transformed Flemeth. They were all quite stunned and then furious.

"I'm going to kill her!" Elissa said through gritted teeth.

"I'm finding it difficult to come up with a reason to stop you." Leliana replied coldly.

"If you sodding morons hadn't gone with him, this actually could've been worse!" Natia added angrily.

"She actually sent him to fight Flemeth. The bitch." Neria said disbelievingly. They were all taken aback by her sudden use of profanity and the coldness in her tone.

"To hell with this, I'll kill her!" Natia fumed.

"Plotting my demise are we?" Morrigan said mockingly as if announcing her presence.

"My dear, while I admire your boldness surely you are aware of the current hostility that is brewing towards you." Zevran mused.

Both Elissa and Natia bolted towards Morrigan who already had her staff ready. Aedan quickly intervened and separated the women before things got anymore out of hand.

"Morrigan, you really aren't doing yourself any favors right now. Why'd you bother approaching us?" Aedan asked sternly.

"To check on Daylen's condition." she said simply.

"And make sure he got your precious grimoire?" Aedan added bitterly.

"That was not my purpose." She said coldly as she eyed him.

"Bullshit!" Natia spat.

"That's enough all of you." Wynne said sternly. "Morrigan, Daylen is stable but will require rest. This squabbling isn't helping his condition or the others, so stop it now." she added with all the authority a senior enchanter of the circle could command.

As she stared at them, they all gradually relaxed. "Now we can all get as angry as we like about this situation but bear in mind that Daylen would have done the same for any of you. Anyone he calls friend can expect that kind of devotion. And those he calls friend should not take that fact for granted." she said wisely as she glanced at Morrigan. "Now we have several patients who still need tending, Elissa dear would you kindly keep an eye on Daylen?"

Elissa nodded quickly and made her way to Daylen's still unconscious form that was resting on a nearby bedroll. Neria and Natia followed suit and went to Darrian and Duran. Leliana took a seat next Aedan who was still struggling to treat his bruises.

"Let me help you." she said gently.

"Thanks, Leliana" he replied as she began applying ointment to his injuries. "I'm sorry I left without saying anything, but I couldn't let Daylen face this alone." he added apologetically.

Leliana simply shook her head as she continued treating him. "He is your friend, actually you're more like brothers now that I think about it, all of you really."

"I'm going to pretend that doesn't apply to Darrian and you probably shouldn't let him hear you say that." Aedan said while grinning. "That idiot would've actually fought that witch by himself. I shouldn't be surprised though, what Wynne said is true. We've known that since we were children." he added quietly.

"Not everyone is deserving of such friendship Aedan." Leliana said after glancing in Morrigan's direction.

"I know. I'll have to keep an eye on him to make sure this doesn't happen again." Aedan said seriously.

Leliana nodded her agreement, she knew that Aedan wouldn't be the only one with that thought in mind. Daylen and the others spent the next few days recovering and when he finally woke he wasn't surprised to find Elissa beside him. He couldn't help but smile as she stirred in her sleep before opening her eyes.

"Good morning beautiful." he said with a smile.

She wanted to yell at him, to hit him, and vent all of her frustrations with him and his damned devotion and chivalry. However, spending the last few days looking after him and now staring into his stupid blue eyes that had finally opened had taken all the fight out of her.

"You're on punishment until further notice." she finally said.

Daylen stared back at her and smiled. "Yes, Ma'am." he said as she began his morning treatments.

Once he was well enough to move around again, Daylen presented the grimoire to a grateful Morrigan.

"I had hoped to check on your condition myself, but the others have been less than thrilled with the idea of me going anywhere near you. You have my thanks Daylen, I can only imagine the battle you must have fought." Morrigan said appreciatively.

"Oh, no trouble at all! It's not every day you get to battle an old woman who transforms into a high dragon!" Daylen said sarcastically before laughing. "On a serious note, I'm sorry about the others." he added.

"Tis no surprise, you're their leader after all and more." Morrigan replied quietly.

"I'd planned to handle this on my own but Aedan pretty much fouled that up. But if he and the others hadn't been there, I'd definitely be dead right now." he said seriously. "Anyway I'll have a talk with everyone later so we can move past this little-"

"Drama?" Morrigan added while grinning.

"Okay, let's go with that." Daylen replied while grinning himself before turning to leave.

"Daylen, wait! Not long after you and the others returned, Wynne said that anyone whom you called friend could expect this level of devotion." Morrigan said as she watched him walk off.

"Yeah, that sounds about right to me." Daylen said after turning his head before leaving.

As Morrigan smiled and considered what it meant to be friends with such a man she was approached by Elissa.

"So have you finally come to lash out at me?" Morrigan asked calmly.

"I simply came to give you a warning witch. If you ever involve Daylen or my brother in another one of your schemes, I will end you." she said coldly as she stared down at Morrigan. Before Morrigan could begin a retort she noticed the blade of a sword pressed against her neck.

"I suppose Daylen isn't the only one who has improved his skills." Morrigan replied calmly.

Elissa eyed her a moment longer before sheathing her blade and heading towards Daylen in camp. As Morrigan watched her she couldn't help but be mildly impressed, after all she was clearly a little girl no longer.


	27. Chapter 27: Cursed

Chapter 27: Cursed

"So they've stopped moving?" Daylen asked as he faced his recently returned friend.

"Yes. It took awhile to pick up their trail, but once I did their movements were easy to follow. They have set up camp on the outskirts of the Brecilian forest, although I am unsure why they have remained for so long. It is unusual." Theron replied.

The Dalish warrior had only recently returned from his mission of finding one of the Dalish clans so that the young Wardens could negotiate for their support in fighting the Blight. Daylen had called a meeting as soon as he arrived.

"Could mean trouble." Duran added.

"When is it ever just a cakewalk?" Daylen asked sarcastically. He then took a moment to consider their approach. "Theron, I need you to be honest with me. Exactly how difficult will this be if they're approached by humans?" he added seriously.

Theron took a moment to consider. "I can't say for certain Daylen. I am unfamiliar with this clan, but there are many who are wary of contact with outsiders, particularly humans. If that is the case here then things could deteriorate quickly, even with your skills in diplomacy." Theron replied earnestly.

That was exactly what Daylen was afraid of. They couldn't afford to alienate potential allies and he knew that the situation had to be handled carefully. "Alright. Theron, I want you to lead a group into the negotiations. Take Neria, Darrian and Zevran. I doubt they'll open with hostilities if a group of elves approaches, especially a group led by a Dalish warrior." Daylen said while facing Theron.

"I understand, we'll leave at once." Theron replied.

"Wait a minute Daylen, I'm not sure Darrian is up for this yet." Neria interjected in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine Neria. Most of my injuries were burns and they've already healed thanks to your care. I'll just count myself lucky that the beast didn't trample me or tear me to shreds like the others." Darrian replied casually.

The others began muttering as Theron surveyed them curiously. "Have I missed something?" he asked curiously after awhile.

"Let's just say that me and the guys got some good practice for fighting the archdemon." Daylen replied with a grin. It was yet another good reason to let Theron's group handle things. Daylen and several of the others, with the exception of Darrian, were still nursing some lingering injuries from their fight with Flemeth. Elissa made sure to give him a mildly antagonizing look after his mention of the fight. She was still slightly upset with him, fortunately her relief at his recovery outweighed her lingering anger. "I'll uh, fill you in on the details later." Daylen added nervously.

Afterwards the meeting was dismissed and Theron's group gathered at the entrance to camp.

"Darrian, are you sure you're alright? If we end up having to fight, you-"

"Neria, I'm fine, really. I appreciate your concern, but I promise you that I'm fit for battle." Darrian said reassuringly.

"To have the concern of a beautiful woman is an enviable thing my young friend. Do not take it for granted." Zevran said while smiling.

As Theron observed them, he couldn't help but wonder what on earth had occurred in his absence nor could he ignore his mounting jealousy.

"We should get going as soon as possible. I am eager to discover the reason for the clan's halt in movement and to secure their allegiance." Theron said calmly but with a slight tone of irritability that Zevran immediately picked up on.

"By all means my friend, lead on." he said while grinning. One way or another this little love triangle was going to reach its climax soon and Zevran was going to have a front row seat. The assassin couldn't help but smile as he considered all the ways he could amuse himself during this trip.

Sometime later the group found themselves approaching the Dalish camp where they were promptly stopped by a young, female warrior. "Halt outsiders! This is a Dalish-"

"Anetha ara, sister. We come in peace." Theron responded courteously.

"Oh! Forgive me brother, from a distance you appeared a stranger. I am Mithra, a hunter of this clan. May I ask what brings you here?" she asked.

"It is alright Mithra. I am Theron Mahariel, a hunter of the Sabrae clan and a Grey Warden and these are my friends and fellow wardens. We wish to speak with your keeper, if it isn't too much trouble." Theron explained.

"Of course, Andarin atish'an." Mithra replied as she faced the others. "Please follow me." she added as she led them all into the camp. They were eventually led to an older, bald elf who introduced himself as Zathrian.

"I must say, seeing one of our people as a Warden comes as a bit of a shock." Zathrian said.

"Are darkspawn not everyone's concern?" Theron asked.

"They are mostly a problem for the shemlen and dwarves. Our people usually manage to avoid them." Zathrian responded, somewhat coldly.

"With all due respect keeper, it is thinking like that that has allowed them to expand into a Blight. Also worth noting is the fact that our people signed a treaty with the Wardens just in case such a calamity were to occur. That is why my friends and I are here, to secure your allegiance in facing this Blight." Theron explained.

Neria couldn't help but smile as she watched Theron negotiate. He'd never once questioned fighting the darkspawn or the threat that they posed. For some reason that made her rather happy.

"It is indeed true that our people have an agreement with the Wardens, but unfortunately I am in no position to honor that agreement. You see right now we are under attack." Zathrian explained.

"From what?" Theron asked without hesitation as he got a serious look on his face.

"Werewolves." Zathrian replied grimly. "We are always careful of the dangers of the forest as I'm sure you're aware, but recently we were suddenly attacked by a pack of werewolves. We managed to fight them off but not before several of our hunters were bitten and infected with their curse. I fear that if we don't find a cure soon we will have to end their lives, as a mercy." Zathrian explained.

"No!" Neria shouted.

"Wait, werewolves?!" Darrian said incredulously.

"These little jaunts that Daylen sends me on are never dull, I'll give him that." Zevran mused.

"I see now, that is why your movements have been delayed and why you can't offer your assistance." Theron replied calmly. "Very well, keeper please tell me how we may lift the curse that currently afflicts the hunters."

"I had a feeling you'd be willing to aid us, we are your people after all." Zathrian replied while smiling. "I may be able to lift the curse if I have Witherfang's heart. You see Witherfang is the source of this particular curse, all Werewolves born in this forest are a result of Witherfang. He is old and powerful and does not age and die like the other werewolves, which is why I suppose they now seek new blood."

"And this Witherfang resides in the forest?" Theron asked.

"Yes, in the deepest part. He will be well guarded by other werewolves, so I suggest you be on your guard." Zathrian added cautiously. "My first, Lanaya, can tell you more. The clan storyteller, Sarel, can also provide more details. Now if you will excuse me, I must attend to the injured." Zathrian said before departing.

As the group explored the camp they couldn't help but notice how relaxed Theron appeared to be. He laughed as he spoke with Sarel and shared stories around the campfire. He smiled after he helped the young lovers Cammen and Gheyna come together. He was also was quite attentive to the young woman called Elora, who was the keeper of the clan's halla as he helped her solve the problem with one of her charges. After helping her discern the true problem with the halla, Elora appeared to be infinitely grateful to Theron and Neria couldn't help but notice the way she watched him as they left. He seemed to fill with nostalgia as he discussed bows with the clan's craftsman, Varathorn. In the end Neria was left alone to ponder her thoughts while Theron spoke at length with Lanaya.

"I must say, it is a pleasant surprise to see him like this." Zevran remarked as he approached. "Though I suppose it is no surprise, given that he is Dalish. Though my mother herself was Dalish, I myself never found the appeal." he added.

"He's always so quiet at camp and when we're traveling. It's nice to see him like this, but-" Neria began.

"But it is unfortunate that you can only see him like this when he is among his own people?" Zevran finished for her. "I have always felt that Theron is a charming enough fellow myself, but here you can really see him shine."

"What do you mean?" Neria asked, clearly confused.

"His popularity with the young women here, obviously. The rough one called Mithra has been eyeing him ever since we entered the camp. It's been the same with Elora and Lanaya for that matter. They stopped discussing werewolves ages ago, she's been enlightening him about her past and her goals as first for several minutes now." Zevran said in a matter of fact tone. "They are all quite lovely and hold a unique charm, Theron is quite fortunate I must say." he added while observing Neria.

Neria was quite stunned, as she continued to watch Theron talk with Lanaya and laugh, she found herself growing angry and then sad. It did make sense, after all Theron was a Dalish warrior and these were his people. They were the ones who could understand him the best. She suddenly found herself feeling quite depressed as she lowered her head, unable to continue viewing the scene of a happy Theron laughing with another girl.

"I'll have to thank Daylen, apparently the sword he gave me is pretty unique according to that Varathorn guy. He gave me a good deal on a matching dagger the Dalish call a Dar'Misu, so I'd say I've got a good set. What's going on?" Darrian said as he approached and noticed Neria's unusually subdued demeanor.

"A simpleton with terrible timing and yet there are actually wagers on you, fascinating." Zevran replied in a snide undertone. Predictably, Darrian hadn't heard what he'd said and Neria was still consumed in her own thoughts. Zevran was of course quick to recover. "The werewolf situation has our young beauty concerned."

"I hope you haven't decided to try and exploit the situation, assassin." Darrian said angrily as he quickly took note of his proximity to Neria.

"Not at all, although a crisis is a perfect time to indulge in latent passions, I feel that at the moment we should remain focused on the task at hand." Zevran replied casually while grinning as Darrian scowled at him.

Several minutes later Theron returned to the group. "I believe that I have heard all there is to learn about the situation. We should proceed to the forest immediately." Theron said calmly.

"Are you sure the werewolves are the only things you've been learning about?" Neria asked in a slightly sarcastic tone that she immediately regretted.

As both Theron and Darrian looked at her in bewilderment, Zevran struggled to contain his laughter. Soon afterwards the group entered the forest. Before proceeding any further, Theron stopped the group.

"What's going on? Don't tell me you sense werewolves already." Darrian said before quickly scanning the area.

"No, but I feel we should have a suitable companion and guide for this journey." Theron said before releasing a rather high pitched whistle. Moments later a rather large, grey wolf approached the group from the forest. "Hello friend, would you be willing to aid us in our travels through the forest and perhaps escort us to the lair of the werewolves?" Theron asked politely. The wolf appeared to consider his request for a minute before nodding its approval. "You have our thanks friend." Theron replied courteously as the wolf joined their group.

"Amazing, simply amazing. Daylen can transform into beasts while you can command them. I believe I have heard of this before, those capable of summoning animals to do their bidding. Rangers I think they were called." Zevran said.

"Since when can you do that?" Darrian asked curiously.

"First of all, I do not command any denizen of the forest. I simply contact them and request their aid and if they are willing to lend their assistance, then I am grateful. I learned how to do so from a book that Daylen purchased and while I fundamentally disagree with the premise of the art, I must admit that I find the skills for communicating with animals quite useful. I was able to gain a considerable amount of practice while I was tracking the Dalish clans that travel these forests." Theron explained.

"I remember when Daylen bought that book from Bodahn. He was certain that only someone who's familiar with the wilderness could have used it. Somehow I knew he'd give it to you." Neria added.

"Daylen certainly knows how to play to everyone's strengths, doesn't he?" Zevran said while grinning. "Well, shall we proceed?"

As they proceeded deeper into the forest, they were quickly beset by werewolves. Neria quickly raised a glyph of warding while Zevran disappeared into the shadows. Theron's wolf friend quickly pounced on one of the creatures tearing into its throat while Theron himself quickly executed two others in rapid succession with his bow. Darrian utterly destroyed another with the Green Blade, which seemed to do considerable damage to the beasts. Zevran reappeared moments later and quickly backstabbed the remaining creature who fell instantly. They soon found themselves continuing their trek.

Eventually they reached a bridge where even more werewolves awaited. "Halt, elves! You dare to trespass into our forest!" their leader snarled.

"These things can talk?!" Darrian asked as he stared at the beasts wide eyed.

"It would seem so. We have come for Witherfang, I don't suppose you would consider taking us to him?" Theron asked calmly.

"Filthy Dalish! You dare pursue Witherfang! We know what you're after! You'll get no cure! You deserve no cure!" the werewolf growled.

"You attacked my people unprovoked and intentionally infected them with your curse. Why? Was it simple malice or are you simply trying to get 'new blood' so to speak?" Theron asked calmly, although he was clearly restraining his fury.

"We attacked because they deserved it! Now leave this place! You won't get another warning!" the beast snarled.

"And neither will you. If you aren't going to bring us to Witherfang, then I would suggest getting out of our way. At the moment I have no issue with slaughtering more of you." Theron replied coldly as he stared the beasts down.

The leader of the werewolves stared back at him for a moment before ordering the beasts to retreat. "The forest has ways of keeping you out Dalish, but should it fail remember the name Swiftrunner! The name of the last thing you'll see before death!" he snarled before departing.

"What a charming fellow, I do wish he could have stayed longer." Zevran said in a cynical tone after the beasts had fled.

"What did he mean by 'they deserved it' I wonder." Neria added.

"The ramblings of a deranged beast don't really concern me." Darrian said dismissively.

Theron, however, appeared to be contemplating his words. Eventually he led the group forward deeper into the forest where he discovered some ironbark that the craftsman, Varathorn, could use. They also discovered an injured Dalish hunter who they helped return to camp where a grateful Mithra awaited. While there, Theron presented the ironbark to Varathorn who crafted him a rather exquisite bow and breastplate as thanks. The injured hunter, Deygen, also offered his thanks for saving him in the form of a gem he'd bartered for to present to his betrothed. Theron politely declined and told the young hunter to keep it for his future wife, Deygen was quite appreciative. The group eventually found themselves back in the forest and far deeper than before. As they made their way into a clearing, they were met with an unsettling surprise as the trees themselves sprung to life and attacked.

"Wonderful! Murderous trees and no Daylen here to conjure flames." Zevran mused.

"How is this even possible?!" Darrian shouted angrily as he was tangled in a mass of roots that one of the creatures had summoned.

"Neria, can you immobilize them?" Theron asked as he fired a scattershot that quickly stunned the advancing trees.

Neria nodded before creating a paralysis explosion with her glyphs. She then summoned what could only be described as a cloud of dark energy that proceeded to wreak havoc on the monstrosities. After they fell dead, Neria immediately began healing Darrian who had just been released from his thorny prison.

"And here I thought Daylen and the witch were the only ones who could devastate large swaths of the battlefield. You my dear are not to be underestimated." Zevran said as he eyed Neria with an impressed look.

"What was that?" Theron asked curiously.

"Death Cloud, it's a high level entropy spell. I prefer subtlety, but sometimes destruction is good too." Neria replied with a grin. Theron smiled at her and they quickly lost track of time until Zevran cleared his throat.

"Shall we proceed? Unless I'm interrupting you?" he said while smirking at the pair. Darrian quickly scowled at him as he stood and glanced at the two.

"Let's just go!" he said irritably.

Further in the clearing they encountered another tree that appeared to be peaceful, if not slightly annoying due to its inability to speak in anything but rhymes. It introduced itself as the Grand Oak and asked the party to retrieve its missing acorn from a lunatic who resided deeper in the forest. In exchange for helping him, he agreed to provide the group with a means of bypassing a barrier that prevented further progress into the forest. Theron agreed to his terms and they proceeded even deeper into the forest.

Further on they encountered even more murderous trees, or Wild Sylvans as the Great Oak called them. Neria quickly paralyzed and destroyed them before the others could react.

"Perhaps I should remain closer to you Neria, for my own safety of course." Zevran teased while both Theron and Darrian glared at him ominously. "Or not." he added while grinning at the pair.

As they made their way even deeper into the forest they encountered an elf by a campfire. "Halt strangers, the forest is no friend to outsiders right now. I suggest you turn back." the elf said politely.

"I appreciate your concern friend, but we have important matters to attend to. Would your name happen to be Aneirin? Sarel and the others spoke of you and-"

"Aneirin! Were you once an apprentice in the circle? Do remember Wynne?" Neria asked excitedly.

"Yes, I was once an apprentice in the circle before I fled to find the Dalish. And I do remember Wynne, I hope she's well." he replied.

"She is...anyway she's been worried about what became of you! The templars made her think they'd killed you. It would really ease her mind to know that you're alive and to see you some time." Neria said gently.

"I would like that, Wynne was always a stern but caring teacher. I would welcome the chance to see her again." Aneirin replied.

After exchanging pleasantries with Aneirin, they ventured further into the forest and finally met the hermit who'd stolen the Great Oak's acorn. The man was clearly insane and a mage but Theron agreed to his question and answer game which led to him trading various items for whatever the deranged mage had in his possession. This included the Great Oak's Acorn and an ancient helmet of some sort that appeared to match a set of boots that they'd acquired in Lothering sometime ago. Having retrieved the acorn they returned to the Grand Oak who rewarded them with one of his branches. This allowed the group to bypass the barrier and make their way towards an old set of ruins where the werewolves had made their lair. As they approached Swiftrunner once again appeared with several other werewolves.

"The forest hasn't been vigilant enough! I warned you!" he snarled before attacking.

Theron quickly let loose a scattershot that stunned the beasts before dispatching them in turn with critical shots and an arrow of slaying. Before he could finish off Swiftrunner, he was knocked off his feet by a white wolf that allowed Swiftrunner to escape before fleeing behind him.

"I guess that was Witherfang." Darian said as he helped Theron to his feet. Theron's wolf companion nodded its agreement.

"Why would it choose not to attack me? It instead chose to aid Swiftrunner. Something very strange is occurring here." Theron added.

"You mean aside from the werewolves and homicidal trees? Oh yes, I agree." Zevran mused.

As the group made their way closer to the ruins they observed another werewolf rounding up several others. "Intruders have breached our defenses! Fall back to the ruins, protect the lady!" he snarled as his fellows retreated to the ruins.

"Who's this lady? This is starting to get confusing." Neria said anxiously.

"I have a feeling we haven't been told everything Neria. At any rate, the answers most likely lay within these ruins." Theron replied calmly.

As they approached the decaying structure, Theron's wolf companion stopped. Theron got down on one knee and gently patted the beast. "I understand, you don't wish to oppose whatever rests within here. Thank you for the help that you have rendered up until now." he said gently before watching the wolf disappear back into the forest.

"I kind of got used to him." Darrian said as they all watched the wolf make its way back into the forest.

"He has his reasons for wanting to avoid entering this place, but perhaps I can garner help from elsewhere." Theron replied before once again releasing a whistle. Moments later a large brown bear made its way from the forest and stopped in front of Theron. "Hello friend. I understand that whatever lies within these ruins is respected by the forest, but would you be willing to lend your assistance until we can reach it?" Theron asked politely. The bear looked at Theron for awhile as it appeared to ponder his request. Eventually it nodded its approval and joined the group.

"I don't even..." Darrian was completely speechless.

"As I said before, he is quite the charming fellow." Zevran laughed while Neria smiled. Moments later they began the treacherous journey into the ruins where several revelations awaited them.


	28. Chapter 28: Warrior Against Keeper

Chapter 28: Warrior Against Keeper

As Theron and the others made their way inside the ruins, they were immediately struck by two details. The first was just how old they appeared to be and the other being how cryptic they were. The dim structure provided plenty of places where the werewolves could lay an ambush. As if on cue, several werewolves quickly launched an attack as the group made their way into the central chamber of the ruins. Theron unleashed a blur of arrows that quickly fell the beasts before they could close in on his companions.

"So it's safe to assume that if you see your opponent coming, they've already lost." Zevran remarked as he stood over the werewolf corpses.

"Theron is a superb hunter after all." Neria added as she glanced at the Dalish warrior.

Theron found himself redden under her gaze and quickly led the group to a door that presumably led to the werewolves' lair. Unfortunately they found that it had been barred from the other side.

"These wolves are really starting to piss me off." Darrian said irritably.

"We will have take the long way around." Theron replied calmly.

The party proceeded deeper into the ruins where they were immediately beset by giant spiders. Theron's bear friend quickly set to work mauling the creatures while Theron provided him with cover fire, this of course left the others with little to do but watch in awe. After the battle the bear returned to Theron's side where he expressed his appreciation.

"You have my thanks friend." Theron said politely.

"Perhaps I should consider learning the ways of a ranger." Zevran mused.

"No kidding. Having a vicious giant at your beckon call definitely has its merits." Darrian added.

"Well, we still have Sten." Zevran joked.

They all laughed before proceeding deeper into the ruins. As they began descending a rather lengthy set of stairs, they heard the distinct sound of roaring in the distance.

"What are the chances that that isn't something that wants to devour us?" Zevran asked in a cynical tone.

"Damn. That roar sounds really familiar to me." Darrian replied grimly.

"You mean..." Neria couldn't finish the thought. She was desperately hoping that they weren't about to encounter a high dragon. She had heard about the battle the others faced when Flemeth transformed into one and witnessed the state they were all in after returning to camp. They had barely defeated the creature and the effort nearly killed them. She quickly banished the thought and focused on what laid ahead.

After descending the stairs, they found themselves inside an immense room littered with corpses and traps.

"We are not alone. Zevran, disable those traps discreetly. I have a feeling that very soon we're going to need the space to maneuver." Theron said seriously.

Zevran quickly obeyed and disappeared into the shadows occasionally appearing as he disarmed a trap. After the last one was rendered harmless, Theron's bear companion cautiously moved forward. Not long after approaching the center of the room, a dragon appeared from above and attacked. Undeterred, the bear proceeded to release its rage before rushing the dragon. Theron quickly fired a shattering shot and followed up with several rapid shots that severely wounded the beast. Zevran leaped in and out of the shadows, hacking away at the creature as he did so while Neria conjured a swarm of insects that viciously assaulted the beast. As the dragon faltered under the combined onslaught, Darrian closed in and finished it off with a punishing three hit combo with his sword and dagger. The beast finally fell and the others quickly surveyed the area to make sure the coast was clear.

"Well, at least it wasn't a high dragon this time." Darrian said casually.

"What do you mean 'this time' and for that matter how did you recognize the creature's sounds?" Theron asked curiously.

"Long story, Daylen can tell you later." Darrian replied dismissively.

As they searched the room they quickly discovered the dragon's treasure hoard which yielded not only a significant sum of sovereigns, but also several useful items including an incredibly powerful bow.

"Falon'Din's Reach, I thought it was only a legend." Theron remarked in awe as he took the long bow.

"Who's Falon'Din?" Neria asked as she too examined the bow.

"The Dalish God of the Dead. This bow is a tribute to him." Theron explained.

"A fitting weapon for our resident Dalish hunter, even I can recognize its power." Zevran said.

"I agree, there's no one else who could make better use of it and we need every edge we can get." Darrian added.

Theron nodded his agreement before equipping the bow and leading the party deeper into the ruins. As they approached the center of the next chamber, they encountered the ghost of a small elven child who promptly fled as a swarm of undead corpses and skeletons attacked. Once again Theron's bear companion dove headfirst into the fray mauling and tearing apart several of the fiends while Neria hit them with misdirection hexes and Theron unleashed a flurry of arrows that destroyed what was left of the creatures.

"So now we can add ghosts and the undead to the list of hazards in this place." Zevran mused.

"I had my fill of these things in Redcliffe." Darrian said wearily.

"This entire ruin is eerie and there's evidence of Tevinter and elven influences. I can't shake the feeling that something horrible happened here." Neria added quietly.

"I have no doubt that it did both long ago and perhaps more recently." Theron replied calmly.

Before Neria could get him to elaborate, he was already leading the party further into the ruins where they were forced to quickly dispatch even more skeletons. As they entered a side chamber, they discovered what appeared to be a ruined library. While exploring the room Neria discovered a small phylactery that she decided to examine. She was immediately greeted by a long suffering presence that resided within the small vial. The others observed her in bewilderment as she spoke to what appeared to be an inanimate object before placing it on a nearby alter that destroyed it. Afterwards she nodded her appreciation to the destroyed phylactery.

"Thank you elder." she said quietly.

"Um, Neria what was that all about?" Darrian asked curiously.

"I was just helping a very old master find peace at long last and receiving his knowledge as thanks." Neria replied while smiling. "Daylen isn't the only one who can learn a few new tricks." she added while still smiling.

Soon afterwards they were once again making their way deeper still into the ruins when they entered a rather massive chamber that was filled with skeleton archers and several traps.

"Zevran remove those traps! Everyone else take cover while I deal with the archers!" Theron yelled.

Zevran quickly set to work creeping into the shadows and disarming the traps while Theron returned fire against the skeletons and the others took cover behind the wall outside the doorway.

"Darrian! I'm borrowing your sword!" Neria suddenly shouted before grabbing the Green Blade from him. Afterwards she began to radiate an ethereal aura as a mystical energy engulfed her. Moments later she dashed into the chamber as the skeleton archers opened fire on her. Their arrows almost seemed to pass through her as she closed the distance between herself and the undead fiends and proceeded to cut them down in rapid succession until they were no more. She then banished the aura and calmly returned to the others while grinning as they all stared at her completely stunned.

"Neria...since when do you use a sword?!" Darrian asked, while still in shock.

"I must say, I share our dull-witted companion's astonishment." Zevran joked.

"Neria, was that a new kind of magic?" Theron asked as she approached him.

"Not exactly 'new' per se." she giggled. She went on to explain how she'd learned the arcane warrior discipline from a trapped spirit in the previous room.

"A lost art of the ancient elves...Neria you truly are incredible." Theron said after hearing her explanation. Neria blushed slightly as she averted his gaze.

"Yeah, well Neria's always been incredible!" Darrian hastily added, eager to interrupt the moment.

"As much as I would love to shower the lovely young beauty in the praise and adoration that she so richly deserves, we still have a ruin to explore, no?" Zevran chimed in.

Before proceeding further, Neria quickly equipped one of the elven blades that they'd discovered in the ruins. It was a rather high quality, curved sword that the Dalish called a Dar'Missan. The others were still adjusting to the sight of her with a sword when she reminded them that they still had work to do.

As they made their way into the next large chamber of the ruins they were immediately greeted with even more skeletons who were accompanied by an arcane horror. Theron's bear promptly mauled the undead fiends while Neria summoned a neutralization glyph that rendered the arcane horror helpless as Darrian and Zevran cut it to pieces. She then activated her new combat magic once more and joined the bear in destroying the skeletons as Theron annihilated the undead archers who appeared with several well placed critical shots and arrows of slaying. After mopping up the last bit of resistance they proceeded to a chamber that rested even deeper in the ruins. Inside they discovered a pool of water and it quickly became evident that they were going to be doing some swimming. Theron turned to his bear companion to say his farewells.

"Thank you for all of your help friend, but I doubt that underwater excursions would suit you." Theron said appreciatively to the bear as he stroked its ears. The bear nodded before turning and leaving the group.

"Will he be okay by himself?" Neria asked with a note of concern in her voice.

"He will be fine Neria, we have destroyed all hazards up until this point with a great deal of help from him I might add." Theron replied with a small grin that Neria couldn't help but share.

"I hope everyone knows how to swim." Darrian added as he turned to face the water that they were all about to plunge into.

Several minutes later they all emerged in yet another chamber after swimming through an underwater tunnel. After stepping out of the water they quickly noticed two things. The first was how gorgeous Neria appeared while drenched. The second was the trail of already vanquished undead that littered the path ahead. The group's attention immediately shifted back to the former as Neria wrung the water from her long, light blond hair and tossed it back. She eventually caught sight of the men eyeing her while she began to wring the water from her robes.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Both Theron and Darrian were quite speechless so Zevran attempted to explain with all the finesse that only he could. "It would seem that this is the first time that my young friends here have experienced the breathtaking visage of a beautiful woman who is wet. Please take it as a compliment my dear, for you certainly deserve one that is beyond words at the moment." Zevran remarked charmingly.

Neria immediately went red before turning her back to them as she radiated a faint glow that appeared to be drying her clothes while uttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Men!" under her breath.

After an awkward pause when Neria rejoined them, they all headed towards the door that led further into the ruins. Theron was quick to stop them before proceeding.

"There is an ambush awaiting us beyond this door. Everyone prepare and I will see if I can call upon one more ally." he said seriously.

The others quickly drew their weapons while Neria laid several paralysis glyphs in front of the door. Theron then released a sound that can only be described as a bizarre combination of hissing and screeching. The door flew open as several werewolves burst in, immediately triggering the glyphs and becoming trapped. As they stood immobile Theron opened fire with a rapid volley of arrows while Zevran slipped into the shadows to ambush anyone else who came through the door. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one using this strategy as several werewolves suddenly leapt from the shadows nearly catching the others off guard. Darrian quickly countered with his dagger and sword while Neria did the same after activating her combat magic. Theron however, was outnumbered two to one and almost mauled when suddenly a giant poisonous spider appeared and dropped on top of one of his attackers, immediately sinking its fangs into the beast. Theron then unleashed an arrow of slaying at point blank range on his other attacker. As all the beasts fell dead they all took a moment to observe Theron's latest 'ally.'

"Another 'friend' of yours I take it?" Zevran joked.

"Didn't we kill a bunch of these things on the way down here?" Darian asked.

"Not all creatures of the wilderness are hostile, at this point I had assumed that would be clear." Theron replied calmly.

"Well it's certainly less-" Neria began.

"Cuddly?" Zevran finished for her while laughing.

They all chuckled for a bit before making their way further into the ruins past the door. After descending several steps they encountered the werewolf that they'd seen outside the ruins earlier, who had mentioned protecting a lady. He was surrounded by several others who were all growling at them.

"Halt! I am known as the Gatekeeper and we wish to parlay." the creature said.

"How stupid do we look? You've been attacking us since we entered the forest and now you claim you want to talk?" Darrian said incredulously.

"We believed you to be more mindless hunters sent by the Dalish. The lady believes otherwise, so she wishes to speak with you. She believes that there are things you haven't been told." the Gatekeeper explained.

"Very well, bring us to this lady." Theron responded calmly.

"Theron, are you crazy? What about finding Witherfang?" Darrian asked impatiently.

"I am fairly certain that they are one in the same Darrian. Isn't that right Gatekeeper?" he said as he faced the beast.

The creature offered no response and simply continued to eye Theron threateningly. "You will follow me to the lady and if you break your word I promise you I'll return from the fade to kill you myself!" he finally said before leading the group to a chamber that housed several more werewolves including Swiftrunner. Standing in the center of the beasts was the rather beautiful and enigmatic form of a woman who appeared to be the perfect union of flesh and nature itself. She had long dark hair that covered her exposed and ample bosom, dark eyes, blue skin, and roots where hands and feet would normally be on a human. She also appeared quite gracious compared to the raging beasts that surrounded her.

"Welcome young hunter, I am glad we could finally meet." the Lady said warmly as Theron and the others approached.

"Don't trust them Lady! This is all a trick! They'll attack as soon as they get the chance!" Swiftrunner snarled.

"Swiftrunner calm yourself, your crusade has only led to the deaths of those you seek to protect. Is that what you want?" the Lady asked gently.

"No Lady, anything but that." Swiftrunner replied in a slightly more subdued tone.

"This just gets weirder and weirder." Darrian said while shaking his head.

"She's definitely not of our realm, but she's also not malicious. I don't sense any evil from her." Neria added quietly.

"She is certainly exotic, that's for sure." Zevran said while eyeing her.

"I believe you wanted to discuss something with us?" Theron said while facing the Lady.

"Yes. I believe that you have been misled by Zathrian, you see the curse that plagues his people is of his own doing." the Lady responded.

"What do you mean?" Theron asked.

"Long ago Zathrian was a young man with a family of his own, a son and daughter. One day while they were away from the Dalish camp they were captured by some of the humans from a local settlement." the Lady explained.

"The humans tortured the boy and killed him. The daughter, they raped and left for dead in the forest. Zathrian found her and brought her back to the Dalish, but later she discovered that she was pregnant and killed herself." Swiftrunner continued.

"Bastards!" Darrian growled.

"How awful!" Neria shouted with tears in her eyes.

"Zathrian in his grief and rage came to this very ruin and bound a powerful spirit from the fade to the body of a great wolf. He then unleashed the creature upon the humans responsible, some were killed while others were cursed. In time the human settlement dispersed, but those who were cursed remained trapped as beasts in this forest until their final days. As time went on, others who attempted to settle here were infected which brings us to the present." the Lady explained.

"I think I understand now. You are both Witherfang and the Lady of the Forest. You are the spirit that he summoned from the fade. But if your goal is lifting the curse, why did you attack the Dalish? Your grievance should be with the keeper and not the clan." Theron replied seriously.

"In the past, whenever Zathrian's clan has passed these woods we have sent word to him to meet with us and he has always refused. We will no longer be ignored and if we must suffer, so must his people." the Lady said coldly.

"I see. The keeper seeks a means of only helping the Dalish, a method that isn't even certain to work. If he were to lift the curse however, everyone would be cured including those he despises." Theron replied quietly.

"Wait, he'd actually risk his own people just to carry on this curse? I thought keepers were suppose to guide and protect or something, like the hahren." Darrian added.

"This has gone far enough. What happened to his family was awful but everyone responsible died a long time ago." Neria said sadly.

"Hatred is a powerful poison my dear and often self destructive." Zevran added.

"Lady, if I were to bring the keeper here to discuss lifting the curse, would you be prepared to discuss things peacefully?" Theron asked as he faced the Lady.

"Of course, that was my intention. I simply wish to end these creatures' suffering and I would appreciate your help young hunter." the Lady replied.

"Alright, we're going to find the keeper. This ends now." Theron said as he led the group back to the entrance of the ruins after the werewolves unbarred the door.

Awaiting in the entrance chamber was Zathrian himself. "I won't bother playing any games keeper. You know we've learned the truth, now I ask that you come with us to meet with the Lady and discuss lifting the curse that you created. The curse that now plagues YOUR people as well." Theron said seriously as he faced down Zathrian.

"So young and foolish. They haven't changed you know, they're the same beasts they always were. The same beasts as their ancestors, I have simply exposed their true nature. " Zathrian replied coldly. "If you simply retrieve the heart, our people will no longer have to suffer."

"By your own admission, that method is no guarantee. The Lady simply wishes to meet with you and discuss this amicably and I have agreed to bring you. I'm asking you to at least consider what she has to say." Theron said seriously.

"And will you protect me if the beasts get out of hand?" Zathrian asked.

"Yes." Theron replied simply.

"I see no point in this, but very well young one. Lead on." Zathrian relented.

Minutes later they were all standing before the Lady once again as the werewolves growled in fury at Zathrian.

"So spirit, I understand that you've taken a name. The Lady is it?" Zathrian mused as he faced the lady.

"No, they gave me my name just as they took names for themselves." the Lady replied as she motioned to Swiftrunner and the others. "This has gone on long enough Zathrian, these poor creatures aren't responsible for your suffering but you are responsible for theirs. Please lift this curse and give them peace." the Lady pleaded.

"He won't do it Lady! We should kill him while we still have the chance!" Swiftrunner snarled as he glared at Zathrian.

"Your beasts show their true colors. They are the same as they have always been, mindless savages and I won't give them the peace they seek." Zathrian responded coldy.

"And is it merely hatred that motivates you now I wonder? Have you told the young hunter and his companions how you performed the ritual that created me?" the Lady asked.

"What does she mean?" Darrian asked.

"In order to summon such powerful magic Zathrian had to use his own blood. So long as the curse survives, so does he. His people believe that he has rediscovered their lost immortality, but that is not so." the Lady replied.

"You selfish piece of-" Darrian began.

"Blood magic for immortality! While your own people suffer now!" Neria cut in angrily.

"No! That is not what this is about! It is about justice and my refusal to give absolution where it is not deserved!" Zathrian shouted.

"You see! I told you Lady! We must kill him! Kill them all!" Swiftrunner roared.

"No! Lady, please stop this!" Neria shouted.

"You see, they turn just as easily against you! Let us end this! We can slay these beasts together and retrieve the heart!" Zathrian yelled as he faced Theron.

"No, Zathrian. A keeper is a leader and mentor. To all Dalish the clan comes first, but for a keeper that is even more true. You have endangered your own people for the sake of a long festering wound and I intend to put a stop to it now." Theron responded calmly.

"Don't you dare lecture me child! I have lived longer than all of you combined! I have seen the nature of humans and it never changes! These beasts are proof of that! What could you possibly know of my suffering?! You call yourself Dalish and yet you stand in defense of shemlen!" Zathrian yelled angrily.

"Everyone of us, myself included have been tainted by the cruelty of humans. But we have also been healed by the compassion of humans as well as each other. I have fought alongside humans, suffered with humans and laughed with humans. I count humans among my closest friends and I'd trust them with my life. If that makes me any less Dalish then so be it, this is the path that I have chosen to travel. But understand Zathrian, I will get you to lift that curse. Even if it means fighting against a keeper." Theron said, the firmness in his voice unwavering.

As Neria and the others stood with him, in that moment they were of one mind. Theron had just voiced everything she felt and his resolve made her feel so much stronger. "Theron Mahariel, YOU are incredible." she thought to herself as they faced a determined Zathrian.

"It seems you have walked among humans far too long child." Zathrian replied coldly.

"And you have languished in your hatred for too many centuries Zathrian." Theron responded in an equally cold tone.

There was a brief pause as the two men faced each other before it was abruptly ended when Zathrian unleashed an incredibly powerful mass paralysis spell that engulfed the Lady and all of the werewolves in the room. Three trees in the room also sprang to life and attacked on Zathrian's command. He also summoned two greater shades and unleashed them upon the group. Theron quickly turned to his friends.

"I will deal with Zathrian, the rest of you handle the Sylvans and those 'things' he summoned. My friend will aid you." he said as he motioned to the spider. They all nodded their agreement before getting to work.

Neria activated her combat magic and fortified herself and everyone else with a casting of haste. Zevran quickly blended into the shadows and began striking at the shades who struggled to catch him. Darrian performed a rather impressive feat of acrobatics and landed on top of one of the Sylvans before planting his sword into the creature's head and spiraling downwards, tearing the monstrosity apart as he did so. Theron's spider friend swung in from a web and grabbed him afterwards right before another of the murderous trees could trample him. It deposited him next to Neria and all three prepared to face off against the two remaining Sylvans while Zevran continued battling the shades.

Meanwhile Theron and Zathrian were engaged in a furious duel. Theron was firing arrows almost instantaneously as they collided with Zathrian's frost and lightning spells. Eventually Zathrian managed to hit Theron with a misdirection hex that seriously hampered his shots. Neria noticed and dispelled the hex but not before Zathrian blasted him with a shock spell that sent him flying across the room. Unfortunately for Zathrian, Theron wasn't one to lose sight of his target so easily, after all he was a Dalish hunter. While sailing through the air he fired a critical shot that pierced Zathrian's right leg as he crashed into a nearby wall. The old man yelled in pain as another arrow tore through his left shoulder. Theron was already back on his feet and firing at the keeper. Determined to end things once and for all, Zathrian began using blood magic in an act of desperation. He quickly hit Theron with a blood wound spell that took effect almost instantly.

"NO!" Neria screamed as she watched helplessly while Theron twitched violently on the floor as his blood began exploding from his body. She and Darrian were still battling the Sylvans who were proving to be quite formidable.

Theron struggled to continue fighting, but every cell in his body felt like it was on fire. He could barely make out the image of Zathrian bearing down on him. Despite everything he was still clutching his bow and he intended to put everything he had into fighting the fallen keeper until the battle was over. Suddenly, Theron's spider friend swung in front of him and fired a net of webbing onto Zathrian. As the old man struggled to free himself, Theron quickly got to his feet and took aim once more. He then fired an arrow of slaying that tore through Zathrian's right shoulder. As the old keeper struggled to recover, Theron quickly closed in on him and struck him three times with the shaft of his bow before finally burying his fist in the old man's gut. As Zathrian toppled over in defeat the others finally managed to finish off the minions he'd summoned. Theron looked at his friends as a smile graced his face before falling to the floor, unable to ignore his wounds any longer.

"THERON!" Neria screamed as she bolted towards the injured warrior. She immediately got to work on healing him. He had lost a lot of blood and the blood magic that had been used against him was exceptionally brutal. "Please, Theron!" she cried as she mended his wounds. "Please don't leave me!" she pleaded hysterically as Zevran and Darrian approached from behind. As they lowered their heads in sorrow, she continued to plead with him. "You're still with us, right?"

"Of course I am. You're here aren't you?" Theron said weakly as he looked up at Neria while stroking her cheek. Neria's desperation quickly turned to joy as she gently embraced him. The battle had been won and it was their Dalish hunter who'd been victorious.


	29. Chapter 29: Resolution

Chapter 29: Resolution

As Theron slowly rose to his feet, both Darrian and Zevran were quick to offer a shoulder to support him. Even though Neria had managed to close his wounds and stop the bleeding, he was still hurt quite badly and it would take weeks to fully heal the scars that would undoubtedly remain on his body. But he was alive and right now Neria couldn't be more thankful to fate for allowing him to continue to walk among them. As they made their way over to the battered and defeated form of Zathrian, Theron looked the old keeper in the eyes as he laid on the floor coughing.

"It seems I cannot defeat you young one." Zathrian said between coughs.

Before Theron could respond, the spell that had bound the werewolves and the Lady suddenly wore off and the beasts quickly surrounded the old keeper, clearly eager to kill him.

"Let's finish him now!" Swiftrunner roared.

"Enough!" Theron yelled. "You demand mercy and yet you refuse to offer it!" he added angrily before facing the Lady.

"The young hunter is right Swiftrunner. How can we expect to be shown mercy if we show ourselves to be undeserving?" she commented as she stopped the werewolves from exacting their vengeance.

"I cannot do what you ask spirit. Perhaps I have lived too long. This hatred in me is like an ancient, gnarled root...it has consumed my soul." Zathrian said weakly.

"You have a chance now, perhaps your last, to set this right Zathrian. It cannot erase centuries of hate or suffering for neither you or those who stand before you, but it is a step in the right direction. If only a small one." Theron replied as he looked down at Zathrian.

Zathrian appeared to be considering his words before he faced the Lady once more. "And what of you spirit? If the curse is lifted, you shall perish as well. Have you no regrets?" he asked.

"I am what you made me Zathrian and after so many centuries I simply desire peace." she replied serenely.

"You and these children shame me spirit. I am clearly an old man, alive long past his time." Zathrian said in an exhausted tone.

"Then you will lift the curse?" the Lady asked.

"Yes, I think it is time. Let us put an end to all this." he replied as he slowly stood.

Moments later the werewolves gathered around the Lady as Zathrian slammed his staff into the floor, releasing a bright light. He fell dead afterwards while the Lady began to fade as the werewolves sadly watched her disappear. After she was gone they were all transformed back into humans and immediately celebrated their restored humanity. Swiftrunner, now human once more, approached the party to express his gratitude.

"We're human again! Thank you! We can never repay you, but know that we'll never forget what you've done for us today!" he said excitedly.

Theron simply nodded and watched as Swiftrunner and the others left the room to make their way outside the ruins and back into a world they'd scarcely imagined themselves being part of again.

Several minutes later, Theron and the others began making their way back to the entrance as well. Despite their victory and the curse being lifted, there seemed to be a slight melancholy within the group. Darrian in particular seemed rather depressed as he got lost in his own thoughts. He couldn't help but notice the similarities between himself and Zathrian. The hate for humans and the desire for revenge. Zathrian carried it for centuries and it destroyed him and endangered everything he held dear. What if Darrian himself was destined to fall to such an end, what if he ended up being no better than Zathrian?

"You are not Zathrian." Theron said calmly as if reading his mind.

"How can you be sure?" Darrian asked quietly.

"Because I am not Zathrian either." Theron replied.

"Well I'm not you either, Theron. Humans killed my mother, brutalized my cousin and spit on my people on a daily basis. They murdered Neria's family and trained Zevran to be their own personal murderer! You're Dalish, for you it's about losing the Dales and all our ancient knowledge. For us it's more personal." Darrian said angrily.

There was silence in the group for a moment as Zevran and Neria exchanged glances. What Darrian had said was true, they did share a more personal connection to human malice.

"Many years ago before my birth, my father was keeper of the Sabrae Clan and Keeper Marethari was his first. During an Arlathvhen, a rare meeting of the clans, he encountered my mother and they fell in love. She was of another clan and her people were against their bonding, but she chose to do so anyway and joined my father in the Sabrae Clan." Theron began explaining.

His sudden sharing of his past had caught them all off guard. Theron had always been quiet and rather reserved. He'd never bothered sharing his past before and somehow Neria was certain that doing so now represented how much he trusted them.

"One day while my mother was pregnant with me and my father was away, he was attacked by bandits. There were both humans and elves among their ranks and they murdered my father." Theron continued quietly.

The others were stunned, particularly Neria and Darrian. Before they could fully fathom what Theron had just told them he continued.

"My mother was grief stricken but somehow carried on long enough to give birth to me. Afterwards she disappeared into the forest and never returned. Many believed that she chose to rejoin my father." Theron said quietly.

The implication was heartbreaking and Neria found herself wanting to cry, to hold Theron and comfort him.

"The woman who raised me, Ashalle, was a close friend of both my parents. She nurtured me for many years, but both she and the clan chose to keep the secret of my parents' disappearance away from me. They were afraid that I'd be bitter towards my mother for leaving me, but after convincing her to reveal the truth to me I found myself more desperate than anything else. Desperate for answers." Theron continued.

Darrian couldn't believe what he was hearing, humans AND elves had murdered Theron's father. They'd likely driven his mother to suicide. How was he so calm. Shouldn't he hate humans, Darrian and the others? Shouldn't he despise everyone who isn't Dalish?

"One of the reasons that I wanted to visit an alienage was to see for myself how some of our people lived among humans and to discover what could drive them to such viciousness. The history of human cruelty is long and varied, but elves were supposed to be better. And of course I bore witness to the suffering and humiliation they all endured, as well as a brazen act of avarice and depravity by a human noble. It all seemed to once again trace back to humans. Hating them seemed right, but it was also easy and I learned long ago that the easy path is rarely the correct one." Theron explained.

"I of course found myself traveling with several humans and fighting with them. But I also got to know them and appreciate them as we learned about each other. I suppose my moment of clarity came one night while I was speaking with Daylen. He said 'An asshole is an asshole regardless of the skin they wear' and at that moment everything seemed to become clear. I found myself laughing with him. Laughing with a human who up until that point I'd acknowledged only as a capable leader, but in that moment he became a friend whom I could trust with anything." Theron continued as he grinned at the recollection.

"Cruelty can come from anywhere Darrian and humans have dealt more than their fair share. But they aren't the only source and allowing hatred to consume me, to reduce me to a bitter self-destructive husk who becomes a danger to everyone I hold dear is something that I won't ever allow to happen and neither will you. No matter how much you say that you hate humans, You would never allow yourself to become a danger to Shianni or the others in the alienage. And unlike Zathrian, you have walked among humans as an ally. You have grown to trust them just as I have and whether you care to admit it or not, they have become friends. Zathrian lived for many centuries and I am certain that he couldn't make the same claim." Theron finally finished as he faced Darrian.

"My path my own and yours belongs to you, but neither follows Zathrian's." Theron added wisely.

As Darrian considered everything Theron had just said he couldn't help but smile despite himself. Neria and Zevran did the same as they proceeded out of the ruins and made their way back to the Dalish camp after saying their goodbyes to Theron's spider friend.

"Theron! The curse has been lifted! On behalf of the clan I want to t-Wait! What happened to you? Those wounds look terrible!" Lanaya was awaiting the party as they entered the camp. Theron decided to speak with her alone to explain the situation and circumstances of Zathrian's death.

"I see. I suspected his connection to the curse. I'm sorry you had to face such a terrible battle and that Zathrian couldn't see reason sooner." Lanaya replied sadly after hearing Theron's explanation.

"It is alright Lanaya, the important thing now is that the hunters are no longer cursed." Theron said gently.

"Yes, I suppose this means I'm keeper now. Let me officially offer the support of our clan in your battle against the Blight. I'll send word to the other clans and we'll be ready when the time comes." Lanaya replied.

"Thank you, Lanaya, I mean keeper." Theron said while smiling. "My friends and I should be going now. It may not mean much coming from me, but I think you'll make a wonderful keeper." he added before turning to leave.

"Theron, wait! Are you sure you don't want me to treat those injuries? They look serious." she said in a concerned tone.

"One of my friends is a fantastic healer and I'm fairly certain she's already planning my medical regiment." Theron responded while grinning.

Lanaya appeared to be slightly disappointed. "Well don't be a stranger, I'm sure Sarel is already spinning tales of your exploits and it would be a shame if we never saw the legend himself return to us someday."

Theron nodded before returning to the others as they made their way to the entrance of the camp. Along the way they were stopped by several hunters who were keen to convey their gratitude as well as Mithra who expressed her eagerness to fight alongside Theron in battle. Neria found herself once again pondering whether Theron would be happier with the Dalish, especially after witnessing the exchange with Lanaya. She tried to push the thoughts from her mind as they began the journey back to their friends, after all she had to begin outlining the treatments for Theron's wounds.

"Damn Theron! What the hell happened?!" Aedan shouted as they made their way into camp.

"Missed a good fight didn't we?" Duran chuckled.

"I take it negotiations went well?" Daylen commented sarcastically.

Several minutes later Theron and the others were regaling their friends with the story of how they'd secured the support of the Dalish and of the adventures they'd had in the Brecilian Forest.

"Werewolves and a blood mage keeper. I really left you with all the fun didn't I?" Daylen joked.

"It's not funny! Zathrian nearly killed him!" Neria shouted.

As everyone began staring at her she quickly excused herself as she dragged Theron off to begin treating his wounds.

"I'd be careful if I were you Daylen. The fury of a woman in love is quite frightful and given Neria's new 'skills' I daresay she'd be able to cause you substantial harm." Zevran laughed.

"Yeah, this arcane warrior thing sounds pretty interesting." Daylen mused as he watched Neria across the camp as she treated Theron. "More importantly, what's the situation over there?"

"I believe we're are about to see the result for ourselves." Zevran replied casually.

"I'm guessing it's not looking good for Darrian." Alistair commented while pointing to a rather subdued Darrian who had wandered off alone to another part of the camp.

"He has decided to bow out gracefully." Zevran said while observing Darrian's sulky form. "His exact words were 'I just can't compete with that guy' and given what happened, I can understand his defeatist attitude."

"Well, the question now is can those two stop being morons?" Natia chimed in while motioning to Theron and Neria.

"Neria is aware of her feelings and she knows what she wants. It's up to Theron now." Elissa said while resting her head on Daylen's shoulder.

"It's always up to the guy isn't it?" Daylen asked cynically while the others chuckled.

Across the camp as Neria treated Theron's injuries, she found herself quite anxious. The thoughts that had plagued her since their arrival in the Dalish camp had once again resurfaced and she found herself unable to hold them back any longer. "Theron, would you be happier being among the Dalish?" she blurted out.

"What? What brought this on?" Theron asked, clearly confused.

"It's just you were so happy and relaxed while we were there and I never get to see you like that here with everyone." Neria explained nervously.

"Neria, I will always be at ease when I am among my people. But my place is here with our friends and you." Theron replied gently. "And I am always happy when we are together."

Neria could feel herself growing warm, but the thoughts of Lanaya and the others were still lingering in her head. It was time, things between them had to be made clear.

"Are you sure you wouldn't be happier with Lanaya or Mithra. They're Dalish after all and they can understand you better than anyone else could and-"

"Neria, only one woman has occupied my thoughts for awhile now. A woman with hair like sunshine and eyes the color of ivy who I first believed to be nothing more than a dream. A woman who offered me comfort after I lost my best friend and whose gentle yet forceful personality inspire me to do things I never thought possible. And now she's treating the wounds that I suffered in a battle that I only returned alive from because she beseeched me to. I want to make this perfectly clear now, Neria Surana is the woman who holds my heart and always will." Theron said as he turned to face Neria.

As Neria stared into his calm, grey eyes she was certain that her heart had skipped a beat. Neither was aware when or how they'd begun sharing a kiss but they were certain that they wouldn't be parting anytime soon.

"So you're okay with him kissing her shirtless?" Aedan joked as the others watched from the campfire.

"I'll give him a pass this time." Daylen replied as he observed the new couple warmly.


	30. Chapter 30: Date Night

Chapter 30: Date Night

As Daylen exited the Wonders of Thedas shop, he couldn't help but feel rather pleased with himself. He'd just purchased the most powerful set of robes he'd ever seen, the Reaper's Vestments, which given their extensive set of defensive enchantments, he was certain would survive the rather frequent brushes with death that he'd grown accustomed to having. He'd also bought a Wintersbreath staff and a set of Tevinter Mage Robes for Morrigan along with an exceptionally powerful ring, the Ring of Ages, that he was currently donning. Given how much he'd just spent, he would've expected any non-tranquil merchant to be weeping in joy, sadly the proprietor of the shop remained the same courteous, albeit expressionless, salesman that he'd been when Daylen first entered the store.

Daylen had spent the last few days buying and tracking down every legendary relic, artifact and piece of equipment that he could find. This included poking around the Brecilian Forest and the ruins that laid within and paying a visit to all of the merchants in Denerim. Strangely enough, one of the first details that struck the young Wardens as odd upon returning to Denerim was the fact that no one seemed to pay much attention to their presence. Most people were aware of who they were, but either didn't care, were afraid of challenging them or simply had doubts about the official story of what happened at Ostagar. The local sergeant of the city guards, Kylon, was quite frank with them after they arrived regarding his own doubts about Loghain's claims. As far as he was concerned, as long as they didn't cause any trouble in the market district, he was more than happy to stay out of their way. They'd even helped him resolve a few local disputes and earned a few sovereigns and a friend in the process. And the merchants were of course, more than gracious to anyone with sovereigns to spend.

As Daylen made his way toward Wade's Emporium, he couldn't help but wonder what the others were up to. It had been almost a week since they'd arrived in the city and the immediate news hadn't been good. Discovering that Rendon Howe had been made the new Arl of Denerim had caused no end to Aedan and Elissa's frustrations. But at least they now knew for certain that he was a part of Loghain's inner circle. The fact that the alienage had been sealed after a purge had nearly driven Darrian over the deep end, fortunately Daylen and the others had managed to stop him from doing anything drastic. One positive event that had occurred was Duran reuniting with his former second, Gorim, who now ran a shop in the market district. Not only were the old friends able to catch up, but he also offered the party a significant discount at his shop and offered to pay well above the usual price for anything they were willing to sell. He was also able to present Duran with his family shield and a letter from King Endrin that expressed his regret over Duran's exile and his belief that he was innocent. It clearly meant a lot to Duran to know that he hadn't lost his father's trust.

It hadn't all been good news or happy reunions though. Apparently Aedan and Leliana had paid a visit to her former bard master, Marjolaine, and put an end to her once and for all. It had been a bitter experience for the young bard and Daylen found himself hoping that the event hadn't traumatized her too much, but Leliana assured him that she'd be okay in time. Alistair, unfortunately, had his own bitter reunion with his half sister whom he'd tracked down. She ended up being a resentful, money-grubbing bitch and the whole meeting had left Alistair quite despondent. Luckily, Daylen and the others had been able to cheer the former templar up rather quickly and for that he was grateful.

One other positive outcome of establishing a temporary foothold in Denerim was the fact that Daylen and Natia had been able to expand their business contacts and cut a few deals with the local rogues. The increase in their revenue was beyond sizeable and allowed Daylen to splurge a bit. They were also able to meet a local thief by the name of Slim Couldry who was eager to rob the local nobles blind, an ambition that both Natia and Darrian were more than happy to share. Daylen himself was more than happy to let them, it brought in more sovereigns and gave Darrian a way to vent his frustrations. They were also able to meet an Antivan Crow by the name of Master Ignacio who surprisingly, wasn't trying to kill them. He even offered them a few contracts and a deal. If they helped him with the contracts, he'd not only pay them but also see to it that the remaining assassin who was hunting them would have no back up. It was definitely a decent agreement and the fact that their first targets happened to work for Howe made it even sweeter. Sadly, their primary reason for even traveling to Denerim, locating Brother Genetivi, was turning out to be just as tedious and possibly pointless as Daylen had expected. The man wasn't at his home and no one seemed to know where he'd gone or when he'd return. Since their arrival they'd been checking back frequently, to no avail. Daylen was beginning to consider the more drastic measure of breaking in and ransacking the scholar's home for clues, but decided against the option for the time being.

As Daylen entered Master Wade's shop, he couldn't help but grin. The man was beyond eccentric, but his talents as a craftsman of armor were obvious. Daylen had commissioned a set of drake scale armor for Neria after bringing her in the previous day. He'd observed her new arcane warrior spells and while powerful, they appeared to place considerable stress on her body, which in turn hindered her spell casting. It was clearly an art designed to allow a mage to fight at close range and therefore it made much more sense for Neria to use armor. But she would need a suit that placed as little stress on her as possible and if possible reduced it. Master Wade assured him that he could craft such a masterpiece and Daylen had thrown in an extra ten sovereigns to see it done. His business partner Herren, was less than enthused given Wade's habit of neglecting his other work when indulging in such master works.

"Welcome! Oh it's you...Your armor is ready, thankfully." Herren said coldly as Daylen entered the shop.

"It's utter garbage!" Wade shouted from the forge.

"Wade, what are saying? It's amazing! I've never seen anything like it." Herren responded.

"Are you blind as well as stupid? The ankle guards are too tight, they'll chafe! There's a splotch on the center, it'll rust!" Wade lamented.

"Wade don't be so dramatic, here you go. Now please LEAVE." Herren said as he presented the armor to Daylen.

"You there! Customer! If you happen to find anymore scales, please give me another chance! I can do so much more!" Wade pleaded.

After examining the armor, Daylen was inclined to agree with Herren. It looked superb, but if he did get anymore scales he'd definitely return, if for no other reason than to annoy Herren.

Daylen was due to meet Natia at the tavern to discuss a possible business venture and then he had a double date scheduled with Elissa, Neria, and Theron. Now that they were in a city, he intended to woo Elissa properly and he also wanted to have a man to man chat with Theron. Ever since he and Neria had become a couple, they'd become inseparable and he found it quite difficult to get the Dalish warrior alone these days. As he entered the tavern, he quickly noticed the all too familiar crimson locks seated at a nearby table. Daylen grinned and took a seat as Natia began filling him in on the details.

"I don't know about this one Natia. That's a lot of sovereigns and these guys sound fishy." Daylen replied suspiciously after Natia filled him in on the details of possible buyers for their latest batch of lyrium poultices.

"No fishier than our usual buyers." she responded casually.

"This is a lot different from dealing with the Mages Collective, a few crooked templars or a rich apostate living in secret. I'm sensing maleficarum and that means trouble." he said seriously.

"Daylen, they're offering a ton of sovereigns and the promise of future transactions. I say we at least hear them out." she replied in businesslike manner.

"Alright, tell you what. Set up a meeting and I'll see what I can pick up off of them. If they really are just a bunch of harmless apostates, then we can deal." he said casually.

"But D-A-Y-L-E-N!" she whined.

"No buts Natia. Now, what do you say?" he said sternly.

"Fine, I'll set up a meeting. Now shouldn't you get going? Don't you have a hot date? I know you're eager to see Elissa in her new dress." Natia teased.

Daylen couldn't help but grin, it was true. Leliana had taken Elissa and Neria shopping earlier and they were due to return soon. He'd also taken it upon himself to buy a rather stylish set of high-class formal wear and was slightly eager to show off himself.

"I guess I'll go and get changed. It's funny, I haven't dressed in a get up like this since I was a kid back in Kirkwall." Daylen chuckled.

"Just have her back before midnight and don't get handsy." Natia joked as he left to change.

Several minutes later, Leliana arrived with Elissa and Neria in tow. "Oh, we had such fun! You two will look stunning!" she said excitedly while beaming at her companions.

"Are you sure it suits me?" Elissa asked nervously.

"Of course it does! You're always wearing armor, so you never get to show off those lovely curves of yours. Even Morrigan would be jealous if she saw you." Leliana assured her while smiling.

"What about me? I've never worn a dress before and I'm not really sure how Theron will react." Neria added nervously.

"Trust me Neria, he WILL love it. Your elegance outshines most of those stuffy nobles in Orlais." Leliana responded eagerly. "You should join us next time Natia, I would absolutely love to dress you up!" Leliana said excitedly as she faced Natia.

"Forget it. I was never the 'dress type' and I've got no one to dress up for anyway." Natia replied coolly.

"Poor Duran." Leliana whispered while shaking her head before dragging Elissa and Neria off to get them dressed.

Not long afterwards, Daylen reappeared wearing a sleek set of noble's clothing that included a blue shirt with silver trim, blue pants and some rather elegant boots that were clearly made for ritzy occasions. Several female patrons had taken notice and there were now quite a few eyes fawning over him.

Natia herself whistled as he reappeared. "Well don't you look suave. You clean up pretty good, Daylen. I have half a mind to jump you myself." she joked.

Daylen couldn't help but laugh as he took a seat. "So have my companions for the evening arrived yet?" he asked.

"Leliana and the girls got here a few minutes ago, Theron is still-"

Before she could finish Aedan arrived with a rather dapper looking Theron. He was dressed in a set of classy green formal wear trimmed in gold. The sight of the normally wild and serene Dalish hunter now dressed in a noble's getup was quite amusing.

"So the warrior of the wilderness can be tamed, huh?" Natia said while smirking.

"You didn't have any problems I trust?" Daylen asked as he faced Aedan.

"Aside from a few stick in the ass nobles giving us dirty looks, no." Aedan replied. "You'd think they never saw a Dalish warrior buying formal wear before." he added humorously.

"Do I look...is this...will Neria..." Theron trailed.

"You look fine Theron. Just ask Natia, if she wants to nail you then you know you're golden." Daylen joked.

Natia then playfully blew Theron a kiss before winking at him. "See?" Daylen added before laughing.

Leliana soon appeared to introduce the girls. "Well boys, I hope you're ready. Here are your dates for the evening." she said before motioning to Elissa and Neria.

Daylen and Theron were immediately floored. Elissa was wearing a rather low cut, strapless, silver gown that she seemed to dazzle in. It also seemed to hug the appropriate areas quite well in Daylen's opinion. Neria was wearing a similar pale green version that also had a few subtle frills on the sleeves.

After several moments of stupefied silence broken only by the occasional whistle of one the drunken gawkers in the tavern, Daylen finally spoke. "I owe you...real big Leliana...whatever you want." he managed as he continued to stare at Elissa.

"Yes, you do." Leliana giggled. "Now off with you four, have fun. We don't get many chances like this, so enjoy yourselves." she added as they all proceeded to leave.

"Not too much fun!" Aedan shouted as they left before turning his attention to Leliana. "So...I don't suppose you got one too?" he asked while eyeing her mischievously.

"Perhaps you'll find out if you can convince me to remove what I'm wearing first." she responded playfully.

"Oh, get a room. I mean, literally. We have rooms, so get to yours and make sure to lock the door." Natia said in an exasperated tone.

They both grinned at her before leaving and Natia found herself alone once again. She couldn't get the thought of their potential business deal out of her mind, but she'd promised Daylen that she would set up a meeting first. And that was exactly what she planned to do, after all she never promised that she'd have him be there. That was something that he simply assumed and if all went well the sovereigns they earned would definitely erase any anger he might feel. He was out enjoying himself after all and she was certain that they'd all likely be sleeping in tomorrow. He certainly wouldn't be at his best to meet and read a potential client and he might not even feel up to it. Yup, handling this herself was the best course of action. Having convinced herself of the 'generosity' of her decision she immediately set off to arrange a meeting with the buyers.

Daylen couldn't help but enjoy the sight of Elissa and Neria dancing amidst the crowd that had gathered to enjoy the performance of a rather famous group of minstrels who'd set up in the market square. He and Theron had recently separated themselves in order to have a chat.

"Theron, I'll keep this simple. Neria has always been like a little sister to me and it's never easy for a brother to see his kid sister grow up." Daylen said seriously while continuing to smile at the sight of the two most important women in his life.

Theron had devoted his full attention to Daylen, he'd suspected that this talk was coming. "Daylen, I-"

"Let me finish." Daylen continued. "I've spent most of my life looking after her and keeping her safe. In the tower there were cocky mages and the occasional templar with wandering eyes to contend with. Out here the dangers have jumped to another dimension. Loghain, bounty hunters, assassins, darkspawn and new things popping up constantly. What I'm trying to say is that I've decided to trust you with her. You love each other, that much is clear. But you'd better make damn sure that you can take my place." Daylen finished seriously.

Theron simply nodded, there simply wasn't anything that he could adequately put into words to express his agreement.

"And Theron, one more thing. If you ever hurt Neria, I WILL come down on you, HARD." Daylen added seriously and Theron could sense the conviction emanating from him as they faced each other. "Alright, now that that's settled. Let's rejoin our lovely ladies before some scum bag tries his luck." he added cheerfully before returning to Elissa.

As Theron observed him, only one thought crossed his mind. "Neria had a wonderful older brother."

As Natia awaited her potential client in a rather rundown back alley of the city, she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was making a mistake. Before she could ponder further however, she was alerted to the approach of several well armed strangers who were accompanying a rather short and shifty looking man with a scarred face.

"Are you the dealer?" the man asked.

"That's right." she replied coolly.

"I represent a fellowship of likeminded individuals who require certain resources to pursue our research. I understand that you can provide us with one of those resources. If that is the case, then I believe we can do business." the man explained calmly.

Natia didn't need Daylen's perception to know these guys were trouble. "Sod it all!" she thought to herself as she pictured the image of Daylen saying 'I told you so' before giving her that stupid grin of his.

"Forget it." Natia replied casually.

"Excuse me?" the man asked incredulously.

"I said forget it. I don't like the look of you or your friends here, so I'm cancelling things." Natia replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Well that is unfortunate and it also puts me in a bit of a bind. You see, we can't afford to have any eyes on us and you my dear are a potential liability. Therefore, we can't let you leave." the man explained calmly.

"Well, I can see how that might-" before finishing her sentence Natia immediately hurled a soulrot bomb into the group of strangers before slipping into the shadows. She sped towards the exit of the alley only to discover more armed strangers, including what appeared to be a qunari. He was definitely different from Sten, for one he had horns and he also appeared downright murderous whereas Sten was quiet, disciplined and stoic. It was clear that Natia was going to have to fight her way out and hope that her back up made it in time.

She quickly began backstabbing the enemy mercenaries as she leapt from the shadows. She was targeting their vitals and executing precision strikes, Zevran's training had actually paid off. Eventually, more enemy reinforcements started to pour in and now there were assassins chasing her through the shadows while rogues began throwing tar bombs at her.

"Dammit! Just who the hell are these guys?!" she muttered as she dueled two assassins simultaneously. She eventually caught one of them off guard with a low blow and executed him while stabbing his friend with his own dagger at the same time. Afterwards she tossed a fire bomb at the enemy rogues after sliding past them. As she made it back to the entrance, several heavily armed mercenaries awaited her while the qunari was advancing from behind. She was trapped.

Suddenly, a large mabari leapt over the enemy soldiers and tore into the qunari as he fell over from the hound's impact. "It's about time you showed! I said stay five minutes behind me, this is coming out of the treats I promised you!" she yelled as she executed a riposte on one of the soldiers. Dog took a brief moment to whine his displeasure before backing her up against the mercenaries. There were only three remaining and Dog quickly mauled one while Natia executed a punisher combo on another before finishing the last one off with a backstab.

As the last enemy fell, she took a moment to catch her breath before staring down at Dog. As he gave her a pleading look she couldn't help but soften a bit. "Yeah, okay. You'll get what I promised." she said as she patted his head.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning blasted the hapless hound from behind and Natia found herself paralyzed. The scarred face man, who had now revealed himself as a mage, approached them from behind with a few of his surviving men.

"You little bitch!" one them spat as he made towards Natia with his sword drawn.

"Enough. She was simply better than you, I must say I'm quite impressed." the scarred man remarked as he stopped his subordinate from executing Natia. "I may have a use for you, lovely one." he said as he placed a hand on her face.

The stream of obscenities that erupted from her mouth was almost completely incoherent. "Such a filthy mouth for such a pretty face." the scarred man mused before walking ahead. "Bring her to the tenement, undamaged." he said before leaving the alley.

The soldiers obeyed and Natia found herself being carried into the unknown and completely at their mercy.


	31. Chapter 31: One Stubborn Dwarf

Chapter 31: One Stubborn Dwarf

"And I kid you not my dear, when I awoke I found myself staring up into the striking blue eyes of a handsome wizard who not only spared my life but also allowed me to join his motley crew of curiosities." Zevran said while laughing before taking another drink. "It has been the strangest turn that my life has taken thus far.

"Well he certainly sounds darling Zevran...I don't suppose you could introduce me?" his companion asked coyly. She was a beautiful woman of Rivaini descent with dark hair, tanned skin, and ample bosom.

"Indeed I could, but I'm afraid I must warn you Isabela, he is quite spoken for and his woman is...fiery to say the least. But if you wish to try your luck, then by all means." Zevran replied before laughing.

"Hmm, so what's the story with this lot?" she asked before motioning to his group of friends who were seated not far away.

Duran, Alistair and Darrian were all seated at a table indulging themselves in the fine libations of The Pearl, one of the finest brothels in Denerim. Zevran had dragged them all out for an evening of relaxation and against their better judgment they'd followed him. They of course ended up here.

"Well you see my dear, there have been several recent pairings in our humble group of misfits and my friends here are among the last of our confirmed bachelors. I figured I would try my hand at cheering them all up." Zevran explained as he glanced at his entourage.

"Aww, poor babies." Isabela mused.

"Enough! Hurry up and...get her to teach me...her t-the way she fights!" Darrian shouted in a drunken slur. He was already well past inebriated and the others weren't looking forward to getting him back to the tavern.

Zevran merely chuckled at the sight of the young elf. "As I explained before Darrian, Isabela has already agreed to teach you the ways of the duelist. But in your current condition, I doubt you could stand up straight, let alone hold a sword."

"Don't p-patr...mock me assassin! I can still kick y-y...hurt you real bad!" he slurred as he swayed on his feet.

"This is actually kind of adorable. So what's his story?" Isabela asked curiously.

"He has a lot on his mind at the moment and he's also dealing with a recent heartbreak. You see he was in love with a strikingly beautiful elven lass who ended up falling for someone else who was-"

"Smarter! Calmer! More disc...better! Just say it! Theron's just better than me!" Darrian blurted out while stumbling.

"Great. Happy now Zevran? We'd finally gotten him sort of mellow." Alistair remarked in an exhausted tone.

"The kid's gonna have one helluva hangover tomorrow." Duran added.

As Darrian toppled over into a chair, completely passed out, Duran and Alistair returned to their own drinks. They'd both been nursing the same glasses since they'd arrived several hours earlier.

"Come now, both of you! I told you that tonight was my treat. If you aren't going to drink more, then at least grab a few girls and enjoy yourselves. Sanga has several lovely young beauties to choose from." Zevran implored.

"I think I'll pass." Duran said casually.

"Same here." Alistair added.

"So what's the situation with those two?" Isabela asked.

"My dwarven friend is chasing a gorgeous vixen who doesn't wish to be caught and our former templar friend there was raised in the Chantry, so enough said." Zevran explained while caressing the backside of one the serving girls who'd just refilled his glass.

"My, my, Zevran. The company you keep these days." Isabela replied while chuckling.

"As I said before, we are quite the group of curiosities." Zevran said while eyeing the pirate captain seductively.

"So...would you care to spend the evening catching up?" Isabela asked in an enticing tone.

"My dear, I thought you would never ask." Zevran replied and after arranging to have some of the girls look after Darrian he bid his farewells to Duran and Alistair as Isabela led him into one of the backrooms.

"So, shall we call it a night?" Alistair asked dully.

"I thought YOU'D never ask." Duran replied sarcastically before both men laughed and made their way out of the brothel.

Meanwhile, in a very dark room hidden within a seemingly abandoned building, Natia awoke to find that she'd been tied up and disarmed. As she surveyed the room, several things immediately struck her as quite ominous. There were cryptic, ugly statues lining the walls and an altar in the back of the room, an altar that was clearly covered in blood. As she struggled to come up with an escape plan, she heard the distinct sound of someone talking and before long several men had entered the room. One she immediately recognized as the scar faced mage who'd gotten the jump on her, the other was a tall, bald, and sinister looking man holding a staff.

"Damn! Another one!" Natia thought to herself. She'd really stepped into it this time.

The others were two mercenaries who were dragging what appeared to be the battered form of a templar.

"And this one?" the bald mage asked the scarred one.

"A Ser Friden. He put up a reasonable fight, I figured it would be a waste to simply kill him without using what he had to offer." the scarred mage replied casually.

"Very well." the bald mage said before motioning the mercenaries to drop the man on the altar.

"You won't escape the maker's judgment maleficarum!" the templar shouted weakly.

The mages ignored him as the bald one proceeded to withdraw a dagger from his robes and plunge it into his hand. Afterwards he made a fist and began squeezing the wound he'd just made. Suddenly, the templar began to convulse as if something were rupturing his insides. Within moments he was lying dead on the altar as blood poured from his open mouth. As his blood flowed onto the altar, an eerie luminescent glow briefly radiated from the structure before quickly fading.

"Barely worth the effort." the bald mage explained in a blasé manner.

"Well, my other acquisition should prove to be far more useful." the scarred mage replied as he pointed to Natia.

"Ah, yes. The dwarf you brought in earlier." the bald mage replied as he too turned his attention towards Natia.

"She is quite remarkable, quite a few of our hired dogs fell to her. She's also rather lovely for a dwarf, I must admit." the scarred mage explained.

"Her appearance is irrelevant as long as her blood has the necessary vitality." the bald mage replied coldly.

"Oh, I'm certain that it does." the scarred mage quickly added.

After observing Natia for what seemed like ages, the bald mage finally turned to his cohort. "Very well, begin preparations for the ritual and have the templar disposed of in one of the back alleys. No one will ask any questions given their duplicitous reputation."

The scarred mage nodded and ordered the mercenaries to gather Ser Friden's corpse. As Natia watched them haul his corpse away, she knew that she would be next and for once in her life she had no escape plan.

As Duran and Alistair wandered the back alleys they couldn't help but wonder how anyone navigated this part of the city. Zevran had been the one who led them all to The Pearl and without him, finding their way back to the market district was proving to be quite the challenge.

"Sod it all! Didn't we just come this way?" Duran growled.

"Don't ask me mate, these alleys all look the same to me." Alistair added humorously.

As they continued fumbling through the dank and shadowy corridors they eventually stumbled upon the body of a templar.

"Poor bastard. Must've run afoul of the local thugs." Duran commented.

"You'd figure there'd be stab wounds." Alistair added.

"They could've used poison, lousy cowards." Duran muttered.

As they examined the corpse they discovered the dead man's journal. "Apparently this fellow's name was Ser Friden and he was investigating possible blood mage activity somewhere in the back alleys." Alistair explained after thumbing through the journal.

"So he was either killed by blood mages or thugs. Well I hope he didn't suffer at least." Duran replied solemnly.

After paying their respects they continued their rather inept navigation of Denerim's back alleys. After several more minutes of incompetent maneuvering they eventually heard a rather weak whimper coming from a pile of refuse. They allowed their curiosity to get the better of them and decided to investigate. Laying wounded in the pile of garbage was none other than Dog.

"Damn pup! What the hell happened to you?" Duran shouted.

They immediately set to work on treating him and feeding him a few bits of mabari crunch that they had on them. It had become common practice for everyone to carry some just in case Dog wanted a treat or needed a pick me up. As Dog slowly recovered and stood, he immediately began barking hysterically.

"That can't be good. I've got a feeling someone's in trouble." Duran said in a concerned tone.

"He's usually with Aedan and Leliana or Daylen and Elissa. I know for a fact that the latter are out on a date tonight along with Theron and Neria."

"So it's gotta be Aedan, Leliana or both." Duran replied.

"Unless the double date turned into an Exalted March. You never know with Daylen." Alistair quipped.

Dog continued to bark desperately when Duran noticed a very small strand of hair clinging to his fur. After pulling it off and examining it, they noticed the unmistakable sheen of red.

"Leliana then." Alistair said quietly.

"No. The color's too deep. Only one troublemaker in our group has crimson hair." Duran replied seriously. Duran knew the color all too well, he'd spent every day admiring it and the woman it was attached to since he first met her in the Deep Roads.

"Pup, can you track down Natia?" Duran asked.

Dog quickly barked in the affirmative and began leading the warriors to their captured friend. They had no idea how long they were sprinting through alleys or cutting through corridors, but sometime later Dog had led them to what appeared to be an abandoned building. The structure seemed to exude a sinister aura which only added to Duran's worries.

"Dammit woman! What the hell did you stumble into this time?!" he muttered as they surveyed the building.

"Not to add to our concerns, but Ser Friden's journal mentioned his search focusing on an abandoned building in the back alleys. If this is the place, then we're likely going to be fighting blood mages." Alistair added seriously.

Duran took a moment to consider their options. He had experience fighting blood mages in the tower, although admittedly Daylen had done most of the work. He knew that Alistair had talents for fighting magic but also no experience dealing with blood mages. The pup would be their only back up if they went in alone. But there simply wasn't any time to go and gather the others and he and Alistair would never find their way out of the alleys anyway. And Natia needed them now.

"We're going in Alistair. Get ready." Duran said resolutely.

Alistair nodded as they entered the dubious structure to save their brash female rogue, who hopefully hadn't finally walked into a mess that would end up killing her.

After entering the building, they quickly noticed a seeming dead end. There appeared to be no doors or stairs, until they took note of a suspiciously placed cabinet. After sliding it to the side they discovered a door that led further down into the building. As they cautiously made their way forward, they heard the sounds of talking. As they peeked through the open door at the bottom of the stairs, they could see several mercenaries including a qunari in addition to a mage.

"I'll leave guarding the entrance to you lot. The ritual will start soon and I can't be late." the mage said irritably.

"Do you really have to kill her? She's looks like a really sweet piece of ass for a dwarf." one of the mercenaries commented.

"We don't pay you to question what we do. Now get to work." the mage replied coldly.

Duran had heard all he needed to know and quickly rushed into the room taking all of the occupants by surprise. He'd stepped into a foothold trap but completely ignored it, thankfully his armor's quality was making itself known. He was wearing a high quality suit of heavy plate mail and wielding the Aeducan Family Shield, all courtesy of Gorim. He was also wielding an incredibly powerful war ax, the Veshialle, that Daylen had bought from Bodahn. He quickly set to work pummeling the qunari with a series of strikes with his shield before beheading him as he fell to his knees. Dog mauled the archers while Alistair unleashed a holy smite against the mage who was promptly stunned while Alistair's blade cut him down. Duran quickly cut down the remaining mercenary before turning to Alistair.

"We have to hurry!" he shouted.

"Something tells me we're about to be really grateful to Daylen for going out of his way to arm us properly." Alistair replied seriously.

He was no doubt correct. Alistair was currently wearing a suit of armor known only as the Juggernaut that Daylen had procured from various areas of the Brecilian Forest after visiting it himself. Aedan, Neria and Theron had accompanied him and none of them seemed eager to discuss the details of how they'd acquired the armor pieces. They did recall Aedan mutter something about Revenants, but he never elaborated further. He was also wielding a fairly powerful shield known as Earthheart's Portable Bulwark and a high quality Saw Sword. The shield had been another purchase from Bodahn whose relationship with the young wardens had clearly been good for business.

After looting the bodies and finding a key for the door that laid before them, Duran led the way forward and dove headfirst into battle against another group of mercenaries. He quickly dismantled the soldiers with a string of attacks from his shield and war ax before rushing the terrified archers who were quickly slain. By the time Alistair and Dog had caught up, the fight was clearly over.

"There might not be much for us to do puppy." Alistair joked as Dog whined slightly.

Further on they encountered a room full of mercenaries including a qunari and a blood mage. The place was also littered with traps that Duran consistently triggered and ignored as he slaughtered every mercenary who made the mistake of getting in his way. Alistair unleashed a holy smite against the blood mage who was promptly knocked off his feet and torn to pieces by an eager Dog. Duran quickly engaged the qunari, hitting him with over power before burying his war ax into his chest after he'd been knocked on his back. Afterwards he didn't stop and continued pressing forward while Alistair and Dog struggled to keep up. Bystanders could easily mistake how Duran was fighting as the ways of a berserker given that he was a dwarf. But Alistair knew better, Duran wasn't fighting with rage right now. It was simply unbridled determination and he admired him for it.

As they climbed a set of stairs and proceeded further they encountered even more mercenaries and a pair of blood mages along with yet another qunari. Alistair once again stunned the mages with a holy smite while Duran and Dog quickly finished them off. Unfortunately, the qunari was able to exploit an opening and slam his two handed hammer into an unaware Duran who was sent flying across the hallway. His shield and war ax were both scattered in opposite directions of the floor as the horned giant advanced on him. With a vicious grin he swung his immense hammer once more hoping to pulverize the dwarf. What happened next not only stunned him, but also the other mercenaries and Alistair. Duran had caught the end of the hammer and through sheer force of will and a lot of strength tossed the stupefied qunari while he was holding it. The giant landed on his back where Duran proceeded to crush his skull with his own hammer. Afterwards, he quickly grabbed his weapons and slew the remaining mercenaries, who at that point were more than a little frightened.

"Duran, are you alright? That was one hell of a stunt you just pulled." Alistair asked in a concerned tone. His friend was pushing himself beyond the maximum and he could tell.

"I'm fine. Let's keep moving, there's no telling how long we have to bust up their little ritual." Duran said as he struggled to catch his breath before once again rushing ahead.

He was yet again triggering and ignoring traps whose damage he was absorbing while simultaneously destroying the pockets of resistance who were showing up. As he turned a corner ahead, he was greeted with a grease slick that caused him to lose his balance and fall as a pair of mabari quickly pounced on him while two archers and a blood mage attacked from behind a barricade on the other side of the room. Undeterred, Duran strangled both of the hounds with his bare hands before launching himself at the barricade while deflecting arrows. As he bore down on the barricade, the blood mage hit him with a rather potent fireball spell that had no doubt been fueled by his own blood. Duran however, ignored the flames and despite being on fire continued to assault the barricade before finally breaching it and annihilating the two archers and one wide eyed blood mage.

As Alistair and Dog caught up, he insisted that Duran take a moment to catch his breath and take a health poultice. Duran begrudgingly agreed and after a few moments they were once again make their way forward. In the next hallway they were greeted by three blood mages and even more mercenaries. Duran once again rushed headlong into the mercenaries while Alistair stunned two of the blood mages with a holy smite before he and dog finished them off. After Duran cut down the last of the mercenaries , all three closed in on the final blood mage who simply grinned. Before they realized it, the corpses of his fallen allies were now standing and making their way towards them while the blood mage fled into a side room.

For a moment, Duran thought that they might be the same as the undead that they'd fought in the past, but that couldn't be right. The walking corpses before him weren't possessed by demons, he was sure of that. They appeared to be puppets of the blood mage. As they got closer one of them began to swell up, almost as if he were going...

"Move!" Duran shouted before he, Alistair and Dog quickly scattered to avoid the explosion. The corpses were still bearing down on them and were exploding one after another.

"Dammit!" Duran muttered. "We don't have time for this." he added under his breath before making a beeline for the room that the blood mage had barricaded himself in. As he sprinted towards the door he grabbed one of the swelling corpses and hurled it inside the room after kicking the door open. He then dove to the side of the door as the monstrosity exploded killing the mage who created it. Afterwards, he made his way back to Alistair and Dog who were just as exhausted as him.

"What the hell kind of blood magic was that?!" Duran asked while catching his breath.

"Actually, that wasn't blood magic. I believe the spells are called animate dead and walking bomb. They're part of the spirit school I think." Alistair replied as he too, tried to catch his breath.

"Daylen's a master of spirit magic and I've never seen him do anything like that." Duran said disbelievingly.

"And you never will. It's the one branch he won't touch. He says it's because it's creepy. I say it's because he's too honorable." Alistair said with a note of pride in his voice.

Duran nodded his agreement. He'd seen Daylen pull some spectacular feats of magic, but never anything that repulsed him like this.

"These bastards really make you guys look bad Daylen." Duran said under his breath before once more pressing forward.

As they made their way to the next room, they were met with archers and yet another blood mage all hiding behind barricades. Worst yet the floor was covered in grease and the blood mage was proving to be quite fireball happy. Alistair quickly nullified the spell before the mage could release it and followed up by hitting him with holy smite. Realizing that the blood mage wouldn't be stunned for long, Duran picked Dog up and tossed him over the barricade where he quickly tore into the mage. Meanwhile, he and Alistair began deflecting arrows as they advanced toward the archers behind the other set of barricades before tearing them down and dispatching the nuisances.

After proceeding through the room, they made their way down a hall that led to a massive door. This was, without a doubt, where they were planning to have their ritual.

"Time to crash their little party!" Duran growled as he kicked the door in. Waiting inside were two blood mages, one bald and the other with a scarred face, one heavily armed mercenary and the most massive qunari they'd encountered yet. And there in the back of the room, lay Natia tied and bound to a bizarre looking altar. She appeared to be weak, but was still conscious.

"I don't who you are or how you managed to fight this far-" the bald mage began.

"Duran, you sodding moron! Why'd you have to come? They're blood mages you idiot! They'll kill you and-"

"Shut it woman! Once I'm done mopping the floor with these bastards, you and I are gonna have a few words!" Duran yelled as he eyed the opposition. Every single one of them was dangerous and they had the advantage in numbers.

"The fact that they made it here clearly means they could be use-" the scarred mage began.

But before he could finish Dog had leapt onto the mercenary while Duran rushed the qunari. Alistair tried using holy smite against the blood mages but they seemed more resistant to it than the previous ilk that they'd dealt with. But he had managed to get their attention and Duran planned to make good use of that fact.

As the qunari swung its massive hammer at him he dodged and slammed his shield into the giant's stomach before slamming it twice more into his face as he fell to his knees. He then finished him off by cleaving his skull with his war ax before rushing the blood mages.

Both of the mages were firing fire and lightning spells at Alistair, but his armor seemed to be absorbing a significant amount of the damage. He finally began closing in on them when they hit him with a combined stonefist spell that sent him flying threw the doorway. As they turned to face Duran they were quickly surprised to find him on their heels, literally. The dwarven warrior sank his war ax into the chest of the scarred blood mage before upper cutting him with his shield. As his compatriot fell over dead the bald blood mage blasted Duran with a shock spell that he expected to obliterate him, or at least push him back. Unfortunately for him, it did neither and after Duran closed the gap between them he tore into the mage's left leg with his war ax.

The man yelled in pain before erecting a glyph of repulsion that sent Duran flying across the room. He glared at the dwarven warrior in cold fury before a malicious grin began to form on his face. He then turned to Natia and withdrew an all too familiar dagger that he then plunged into his hand before making a fist. Natia began to convulse and Duran was desperate to stop whatever was happening. He quickly took his shield and tossed it across the room striking the bald blood mage in the head before he could kill Natia. Duran then roared as he bolted toward the lunatic who met him head on with a crushing prison spell. Duran could feel his bones breaking as he fell to the floor. The deranged mage stared over him coldly.

"You can join her soon enough dwarf!" he spat before blasting Dog with a shock spell as he rushed over to help. He then turned his attention back to Natia while Duran laid helpless. His war ax was mere inches away from his fingers. With all the effort he could muster he reached for it and got a firm grasp as he faced the back of the bastard who'd just threatened Natia. He then threw the ax with all the power he could summon and watched as it punctured the blood mage's back. As he fell to his knees, Duran limped over and unleashed a flurry of punches that left his face a battered, unrecognizable mass of flesh. Afterwards he pulled his war ax from the mage's back and planted it in his chest for good measure. As the man fell over dead, Duran took a moment to catch his breath before limping over to a stunned and still very weak Natia. He gently lifted her from the altar before smashing it to bits with his war ax. He then gently lifted her once more and began carrying her out of the room where an injured Alistair and Dog awaited.

"You sodding moron. Why did you come?" she asked weakly.

"Because I'm in it for the long haul." Duran replied hoarsely as they all began the trek back home.

The next morning, Natia awoke to find herself back at the Gnawed Noble. She was resting in her bed and quickly noticed Duran sitting on a footstool beside her, asleep. Daylen was also in the room sitting on a couch, shirtless while reading a book. He was still wearing his formal pants from the previous day. She couldn't help but notice how well toned he happened to be despite the fact that he was a mage. "Maybe that was just a stereotype." she thought. He also had quite a few scars from his battles with Uldred and Flemeth. In Orzammar, it would be considered a warrior's body. Sitting next to him with her head resting on his shoulder was Elissa, who was also asleep and wearing his shirt from the previous day and little else. It was a rather cute scene, or it would be if Natia hadn't just recalled the rather serious chain of events that more than likely led to them getting dressed so haphazardly. Daylen was going to be furious, she knew that. Maybe if she just pretended to still be sleeping...

"I know you're awake Natia." Daylen suddenly said sternly before closing his book. His voice had awoken the other two who were now stirring awake. "So, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Natia looked at him rather sheepishly before giving her reply. "Okay. I messed up. But it's not like we lost any sovereigns so-"

"Sovereigns! Who gives a damn about sovereigns! You almost got yourself killed last night, in one of the most horrible ways possible! No amount of coin is worth risking your life you idiot!" Daylen yelled angrily.

"Wait a minute! You've nearly gotten yourself killed plenty of times too! You don't get to play high and mighty with me!" she shot back.

"Yeah, you're right! And everything that I've ever risked my life for is in this tavern right now! You're all a bunch of lunatics with a laundry list of personality issues, but I'd risk my life for any one of you!" he yelled. "So I'd appreciate it if you were more careful with what I treasure the most." Daylen added quietly.

There was a long silence before Natia spoke again. "I'm sorry, Daylen." she finally said earnestly.

Daylen looked at her for awhile before speaking again. "Hell Natia. It's not like I could honestly stay mad at you." he replied while grinning. "From now on we handle things like this together no matter what, understand?" he added sternly.

Natia nodded, she meant it this time.

"Alright, Wynne's already looked you over. She says you should get plenty of rest, so make sure you sleep in today. We'll have your meals sent here too." he said casually. "Oh and one more thing. Make sure you're up bright and early tomorrow, Leliana is taking you out shopping. Consider this your punishment." he added with a smile.

"Bastard!" Natia replied under her breath.

Daylen simply chuckled before turning to kiss Elissa. "Anything you want add?" he asked.

Elissa simply nodded before standing and approaching Natia's bedside. "Natia, I'd prefer not to lose any of the sisters I have now. Please remember that." she said gently before brushing the hair from Natia's face and kissing her forehead. Afterwards she returned to Daylen's side before they both made their way to the door.

"One more thing, everyone's been waiting to pay you a visit. So be prepared to have a few visitors." Daylen said cheerfully as he and Elissa left the room.

Not long afterwards, Natia found herself bombarded by a string of visits from their friends. Neria and Theron were first, Theron apologized for not being there to lend his assistance while Neria refused to stop hugging her. Next were Aedan, Leliana and Dog. Aedan seemed to be upset by the fact that he was the only guy who hadn't fought a blood mage yet while Leliana expressed how cross she would've been if Natia had died and also how much she was looking forward to their shopping trip. Dog was still feeling guilty over the fact that she was kidnapped on his watch. After convincing the hound that it was because of him that the others were able to rescue her and assuring him that he was the best mabari in all of Thedas, he seemed to cheer up. Alistair dropped by afterwards to give his well wishes and express his pride at the fact that he now had experience fighting blood mages.

"Men are idiots." Natia thought to herself.

Zevran and Darrian were next. Zevran made a rather snide comment about how she still had a long way to go in her training if she was caught so easily. Darrian appeared to be nursing a hangover, but assured her that once he became a duelist he'd have her back so that crap like this wouldn't happen anymore. Perhaps the biggest surprise visit came from none other than Morrigan, who spent roughly ten seconds congratulating her for not dying before leaving. Sten also made a fairly surprising appearance, he seemed to regret the fact that they'd had to fight something called Tal-Vashoth. After he left Wynne came to check on her once more before wishing her a full recovery and promising to have long talk with her later. Afterwards, she was alone with Duran who'd remained on his stool the entire time.

"Aren't you gonna yell at me too handsome?" Natia asked after awhile.

"I think Daylen covered all of the important bits." Duran replied while grinning.

"It's weird. I'm not used to having anyone give a damn about me, except for my sister Rica." Natia said quietly. "Now I've got a whole damn crew worrying about me. And you...why did you come for me?" she whispered.

"You already know why." Duran replied calmly.

"Dammit! Why are you always...I can't! Okay, I can't! I can share a bed, but I can't share feelings. But when it comes to you...Every time we flirt my heart races like I'm some damn teenager. When you grow up in Dust Town, you learn not to trust anyone especially if you're a girl with a cute face. You learn not to let anyone get close unless it's close enough to slit their throats. Now I've got these idiots and you...I can't keep pushing you away when you do shit like this!" she shouted angrily as she started to shed tears.

Duran simply climbed into her bed and held her as she cried. "I hate to break this to you, but you've got a pretty dedicated group of morons looking out for you now. And a stubborn dwarf with lame pickup lines who's not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Dammit Duran! I'm a mess! Why won't you just walk away?" she sobbed.

"Like I said before, I'm in it for the long haul." he replied as he dried her tears.

"You stubborn, sodding, idiotic..." she continued muttering curses as she wrapped her arms around him and fell asleep. Duran grinned as he looked down at her before he too eventually fell asleep.


	32. Chapter 32: Picking Up the Trail

Chapter 32: Picking Up the Trail

"We lead such charmed lives, don't we?" Daylen remarked sarcastically as he maintained the position of lookout while Natia picked the lock on the door of Brother Genitivi's home. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but he'd finally decided that they couldn't afford to wait any longer for the absent scholar's return.

"Well, look on the bright side. Compared to half the other things we typically do, common burglary seems pretty tame." Aedan replied while grinning.

They both laughed while Dog rolled around on the ground playfully. Daylen had decided earlier that day to finally break into Brother Genitivi's residence and snoop around for some clues. He still felt that the whole urn business was a waste of time, but their options at the moment were fairly slim.

"Alright! It's done!" Natia announced as she stood to her feet.

"That was fast. But then again, this type of thing is right up your alley." Aedan joked.

"Damn straight and you should both be a little more grateful for my services." Natia replied while grinning.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure Duran buys you something pretty later." Daylen teased.

"Shut it!" Natia quickly added, with a note of embarrassment in her voice.

The fact the she and Duran had finally gotten together was no secret among their friends, but it was still fun to annoy her. Both Daylen and Aedan chuckled briefly before entering the now unlocked front door.

After entering the quaint dwelling and surveying the immediate surroundings, several things struck Daylen as unusual. The first was the fact that there didn't appear to be any dust on any of the furnishings despite the rather common belief that Brother Genitivi had been absent for several weeks now. The second was the fact that the fireplace was lit and there appeared to be a cooking pot resting above the flames. Finally, there were open books strewn about everywhere, as if someone were searching for something. As they proceeded further they were greeted by the sudden appearance of a meek looking man who offered a courteous greeting.

"Hello, may I help you?" the man asked.

"That depends. We're looking for a Brother Genitivi, would you happen to know where we could find him?" Daylen asked casually. He was quick to take note of the fact that the man didn't seem to be the slightest bit dismayed at their very clear intrusion.

"I see, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Weylon and I'm Brother Genitivi's assistant.

"Any particular reason you had the door locked?" Aedan asked suspiciously.

"Over the last several weeks I've been visited by several knights from Redcliffe who were also curious about Brother Genitivi's whereabouts. I told them what I knew, but I fear they may have disappeared just as he has. I simply wanted to avoid any further visitors." Weylon explained.

"Is that so? Well, why don't share with us as well, since we're here." Daylen replied.

"Oh no, you're after the ashes too, aren't you? Please, don't force me tell you as well, too many have already disappeared in this mad quest!" Weylon replied desperately.

"You're beginning to waste our time friend." Aedan said angrily as he eyed Weylon.

"Fine. Brother Genitivi told me he was researching a lead at Lake Calenhad. But I beg you to reconsider this foolishness." Weylon said after finally relenting.

As the others prepared to leave they noticed that Daylen was still facing Weylon. "So, tell me what has Brother Genitivi's research unearthed?" Daylen asked nonchalantly.

"I-I don't really know. I wasn't preview to Brother Genitivi's work." Weylon responded nervously.

"Strange, considering the fact that you're his assistant. Are you sure there's nothing else you'd care to tell us?" Daylen asked as he observed the man.

"I-I've told you everything I know! As I said before, Genitivi's research led him to Lake Calenhad." Weylon responded nervously.

"Funny, you said before that he TOLD you that he was researching a lead at Lake Calenhad. You also mentioned NOT being preview to his research. Enough games, I suggest you reveal who you really are NOW." Daylen said seriously.

The man who identified himself as Weylon quickly dropped his facade. "You just couldn't let it go, could you? Andraste forgive me, I do this in your name!" he shouted before firing a shock spell at Daylen.

Daylen quickly erected a spell shield and countered with a petrify spell followed by a stonefist. The shattered remains of the Weylon imposter were already littering the floor as the others rushed to Daylen's aid.

"He was a mage?!" Aedan said incredulously.

"And an imposter I suspect." Daylen replied calmly. "The good Brother obviously discovered something that someone wants to keep secret." he added seriously.

"We can probably find something if we poke around a bit. That's what we were planning to do anyway, right?" Natia said as her eyes quickly shot to the room in rear of the house.

As they investigated the room, they made two important discoveries. One was the body of who they could only assume was the real Weylon and the other being Brother Genitivi's research notes which indicated that he'd headed to a small village called Haven located in the Frostback Mountains.

"I think it's time we held a meeting." Daylen announced after pocketing the research notes.

An hour later, the young wardens and their allies were all gathered inside one of their rooms at the Gnawed Noble Tavern.

"Alright people, it looks like I'll be taking a little trip to the mountains." Daylen said casually before explaining what had just occurred at Brother Genitivi's home and what they'd discovered afterwards. He'd already made the decision to handle this himself, recently too many of his friends had been having close calls with mages and the recent situation reeked of a conspiracy.

"Not alone, I hope." Elissa replied seriously as she turned to face him. She had taken a seat next to him and was clearly ready to argue if he'd even suggested the idea.

"Give me some credit Elissa. I'll be taking a small team with me while the rest of you wait here." he explained. "This will be a long journey though, so whoever I bring had better be ready for a LONG trek. By the way, I'll miss you." he added before quickly kissing her.

"Not if I come with you." she replied after returning the kiss.

"Do you have to do this in front of me?" Aedan asked irritably.

"Oh grow up." Elissa shot back.

Daylen then cleared his throat to prevent their little argument from escalating. "I don't know what Genitivi stumbled onto, but some pretty dangerous people are obviously trying to prevent anyone from following in his footsteps. With that being said, this could end up leading to another dead end." he said seriously. "Wynne, while I'm gone I want you to contact every herbalist and healer that you can get in touch with and see if they can have any luck with the arl and do what you can to compare notes." he added as he looked in Wynne's direction.

"Of course Daylen, but I doubt that their luck will be any better." Wynne replied honestly.

"It's worth a try Wynne. I really don't like the idea of placing all of our ambitions on a search for a religious relic." Daylen said earnestly. "Worst case scenario, we start gathering every arl and bann that we can who opposes Loghain and work from there." he added seriously.

"You make it sound as though the search is completely hopeless." Leliana replied sadly.

"He is acting sensibly and within reason, which I am sure are foreign concepts to the religious zealots of the Chantry." Morrigan added coldly.

Leliana quickly shot her a dirty look before Aedan placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

"I want to have contingencies in place Leliana, the stakes are simply too high not to have a few backups." Daylen explained.

"Alright, then it's settled. But who are you taking with you?" Duran asked.

It was a question that Daylen had been pondering himself. He wasn't keen on placing Natia or Duran in harm's way so soon after their blood mage encounter. Despite what they both said, he was certain they were still recovering. Darrian was still training under the rogue pirate captain Isabela, so he was definitely out.

"Well, since my gorgeous girlfriend offered, I think it'd only be right to have her accompany her man on his journey into the unknown." Daylen said charmingly before once again kissing Elissa.

"And which of us gets to be lucky enough to intrude on you two lovebirds?" Alistair joked.

"I figure we can make it another double date." Daylen replied while grinning. "What do you say Theron? Are you and Neria feeling up to it?" he asked.

Theron nodded his approval while holding Neria who smiled. "Alright, we'll leave as soon as possible right after we do a gear check." Daylen added.

As the group met at the entrance to Denerim, Daylen couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed in Elissa's appearance. He'd gotten quite used to seeing her in more 'feminine' attire and seeing her donning armor once more was bittersweet to say the least. He was however, quite pleased with the level of protection that the armor would undoubtedly provide. She was wearing a legendary chest plate known as Evon the Great's Mail that he'd bought from Wade's Emporium, it apparently had quite a bit of history to it. She was also equipped in heavy chainmail gloves and boots of the highest quality and wielding a pair of high quality Saw Swords.

Neria was wearing the drakeskin armor that Daylen had commissioned from Master Wade. According to her, it didn't even feel like armor and Daylen was glad. She'd be able to use her combat magic without any added fatigue. She would eventually need a better sword though and perhaps a shield, Daylen was certain that he could find something more suitable for her talents. For now the Dar'Missan would have to do.

Theron was wearing a set of ancient elven armor whose components they'd discovered scattered all over the place during their journeys. The only missing component now were the gloves. Daylen himself was wearing the Reaper's Vestments, the Imperial Weavers, the Cinderfel Gauntlets, the Spellward Amulet, Andruil's Blessing, the Ring of the Ages and wielding the Staff of the Magister Lords. Yeah, being the leader had its perks and so did having a ridiculous sum of sovereigns. After surveying the group and feeling quite satisfied with their equipment, Daylen led the way outside of the city to begin their long trek to Haven.

Sometime later, they found themselves climbing a mountain that seemed to go on forever. Theron had contacted a wolf who was now traveling with them and acting as a guide. Eventually they found themselves approaching a small and very out of the way village that Daylen was quite sure had to be Haven. As they made their way closer they were stopped by local guard.

"Halt! What is your purpose here strangers?" the guard demanded as Theron's wolf began growling at him.

"We're obviously two pairs of newlyweds here for our honeymoons." Daylen replied sarcastically. "You see we read a rather lovely brochure that recommended-"

"We don't appreciate strangers poking around our home." the guard cut in.

"Fair enough, I don't suppose a Brother Genitivi has passed through here. He was a guest at both our weddings you see and-"

"I haven't heard of such a visitor. Perhaps you should ask Revered Father Eirik. He is currently holding a service for the rest of the village at the Chantry." the guard said coldly.

"Revered Father? I've never heard of a male priest." Elissa added.

"That is how it has always been in Haven. Now, I suppose you can purchase supplies at the village shop and then be on your way." the guard said threateningly before walking off.

"Nope. Nothing strange going on here at all." Daylen remarked sarcastically after the guard left. Afterwards, he received a punch in the arm from Elissa. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Honeymoon?" she said as her face grew red.

"Oh come off it. I'd never bring you to a place like this for our honeymoon." Daylen replied dismissively.

Elissa wasn't sure if she wanted to punch him or kiss him at the moment. Meanwhile, Theron and Neria exchanged brief glances while blushing as Daylen led the way into the village completely, unabashed.

The village was completely empty and quite eerie. As the group made their way inside the village shop they were greeted by a rather nervous shopkeeper.

"Strangers? You're not from Haven." the man said anxiously.

"We aren't? Then my whole life has been a lie!" Daylen said in mock desperation.

Even Theron had to stifle a laugh at this point while both Elissa and Neria giggled.

"I suppose I can trade with you, I don't have much." the man said as he stared at them.

Suddenly, Theron's wolf companion bolted towards the backroom of the shop and began barking.

"Get your beast away from there!" the man shouted angrily.

"It would seem that he has discovered something unpleasant." Theron replied calmly before the shopkeeper pulled out a dagger and attacked. Theron's wolf quickly pounced on the man and tore into is throat.

Afterwards the others went to investigate what had gotten his attention. What they discovered was grisly beyond words. The mutilated corpse of one of the knights of Redcliffe had been dumped on the floor in the small backroom of the shop. Both Elissa and Neria gasped in horror.

"How awful!" Neria whispered.

"What did they do to him?" Elissa asked quietly.

"It would seem that the knights of Redcliffe got too close to whatever this Brother Genitivi discovered." Theron stated as he held Neria's hand.

After examining the body Daylen rose to his feet and led the way to the front door of the shop. "Get ready." he said sternly as he opened the door.

Awaiting them outside were a slew of attackers including a pair of mages and what appeared to be armed civilians. Daylen quickly dispatched the mages with a mana clash before taking down several more assailants with a fireball. Elissa began carving her way through the mysterious soldiers who appeared while Neria activated her combat magic and followed suit. Theron fired a rapid volley of arrows that decimated the enemy archers while his wolf friend leapt from target to target. It wasn't long before the group had completely wiped out the opposition.

"Did the entire town just attack us?" Elissa asked, still quite stunned by the ambush.

"It looks that way. Anyone who wasn't here is probably with this Eirik guy." Daylen replied seriously. "I guess we're heading for the Chantry."

As they began the climb to the village Chantry that rested on the top of a hill, they were quickly beset by more strange warriors and enemy archers. Theron dispatched the archers while Elissa and Neria battled the strange warriors who seemed to revel in pain and grow stronger as they got closer to death. After finally defeating them, they both needed to catch their breaths.

"Are they possessed?" Elissa asked as she wiped the sweat from her face.

"No, if I'm not mistaken they're Reavers." Daylen replied grimly.

"I remember reading about them once, I had always hoped they were just myths." Neria added quietly.

"What exactly are they?" Theron asked as he surveyed the fallen warriors.

"Warriors who feed off of death and pain, both their opponent's and their own. I guess in a twisted way they're the warrior counterparts to blood mages." Daylen replied seriously.

"Well, blood mages can be killed and so can they." Elissa said defiantly before continuing up the hill.

After entering the Chantry at the top the party was welcomed by the infamous Father Eirik. "It seems we have guests." he said coldly as they entered the gathering.

"I'm only going to ask you once. Where is Brother Genitivi? If your answer is that you murdered and mutilated him like those poor Redcliffe bastards then you can join the rest of the psychopaths who attacked us." Daylen remarked angrily as he faced Eirik.

"You see! This is why we must be wary of outsiders! They don't understand our ways! They would bring war to us!" Eirik announced to his congregation.

"Your ways?! You butchered and murdered innocent people!" Elissa shouted angrily.

"We don't have to explain ourselves to you. Failing to protect her would be a greater sin." Eirik said calmly before inciting his congregation into attacking.

Daylen quickly hit Eirik with a petrify spell followed by a crushing prison spell that shattered him. He then transformed into a bear and mauled the nearest attackers alongside Theron's wolf. Theron himself performed a bit of acrobatics that sent him several feet into the air where he fire several precision shots with his bow that thinned the enemy ranks considerably while Elissa unleashed a whirlwind of slashes that destroyed what remained of their aggressors. After the battle was over, Daylen noticed a strange medallion resting among the shards of what remained of Eirik. He decided to grab it, experience had taught him that these things tended to be important.

"Now what?" Elissa asked in a frustrated tone.

As if answering her question, Theron's wolf led them to a concealed door in the back wall. Inside the room that laid beyond they discovered a rather battered prisoner who they could only assume to be Brother Genitivi.

"You're not an easy man to find Brother." Daylen said as Neria quickly kneeled beside him and began healing his injuries.

"Oh, thank the maker! For a minute I thought that you were one of them. They've been holding me prisoner for weeks trying to get information about my life and details about my research." Genitivi explained.

"My guess is they were planning to plant an imposter of you as well." Daylen said calmly.

" What do you mean?" Genitivi asked.

Daylen quickly explained how he'd encountered an imposter of Genitivi's research assistant, Weylon, at his home in Denerim and how the actual Weylon was dead.

"Oh Weylon, my poor boy. He believed in me, even when I'd lost hope in myself." Genitivi replied sadly.

"I'm sorry for having to dump this all on you." Daylen added apologetically. "I don't suppose you know who these maniacs are?"

"They call themselves the Disciples of Andraste. They seem to be isolationists dedicated to protecting Andraste's ashes. Their group may actually predate the Chantry itself." Genitivi explained.

"Great, a deranged cult dedicated to getting in our way." Daylen mused cynically.

"At least this proves that the ashes are real Daylen. That means that this journey wasn't a waste of time." Neria said brightly.

"Well, that's one bit of good news. How about giving me a bit more Brother? Please tell me you know the location of the ashes?" Daylen asked eagerly.

"Why, yes. At the top of this mountain lies an old temple that all of my research points to as being the resting place of the ashes. Unfortunately, the door that leads inside requires a very specific key, Eirik wears it as a medallion." Genitivi explained.

"You mean this?" Daylen said casually as he pulled out the medallion.

"Yes!" Genitivi replied excitedly before facing Neria. "Thank you young lady, I'm feeling much better now. I can lead you to the temple whenever you're ready."

Daylen quickly turned to his friends. "Okay, chances are this temple is going to be crawling with more of these demented cultists and Reavers. Are we all ready?"

"Daylen, following you around means being ready for anything. And being your lady means being ready for a million times worse." Elissa joked as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I had to put up with him for years you know." Neria added while giggling.

"Why does everyone always gang up on me? Theron, help me out here." Daylen replied in mock desperation.

"I've gotten used to it myself." Theron replied with a grin.

They all laughed before setting off for the temple and a whole new set of challenges.


	33. Chapter 33: Challenge After Challenge

Chapter 33: Challenge After Challenge

"Amazing! Absolutely Amazing! Just look at these markings, they clearly date back to-"

"Brother, I'm going to need you to calm down." Daylen said sternly as he and his companions surveyed the immensity of the structure that they'd just entered. Brother Genitivi had just ushered them inside the ruined temple after unlocking the door at the entrance with the late Father Eirik's medallion.

"Yes, of course. Oh how I'd love to study the writings on these walls, perhaps make a few etchings..." Brother Genitivi trailed off.

"Tell you what Brother, why don't you stay here at the entrance and take all the etchings you want? It's reasonably safe and you won't have to worry about cultists murdering you." Daylen suggested.

"That sounds wonderful, I doubt I'd be much help to your group anyway. You should be aware that legends say that this place is protected by the maker himself." Brother Genitivi cautioned.

"Traps. Got it." Daylen responded casually.

Brother Genitivi chuckled at the mage's candor before responding. "Yes, I imagine there will be several and likely complex mechanisms designed to hinder your progress. 'Traps' are a far less romantic means of describing the protections in this place. After all, no one wants to hear: 'Willy toiled for many a year to perfect the curious mechanisms that would send a sharpened spike up the arse of the unwary intruder.'"

Daylen grinned as he stared at the scholar. "Logic? Are you sure you're a follower of the Chantry?" he mused.

"Some would call it heresy, but my faith in the maker is no less absolute even knowing that certain 'miracles' are the works of men." Genitivi replied earnestly.

Daylen found himself admiring the scholar, the man had survived weeks of torture and imprisonment at the hands of a deranged band of cultists. But despite it all, he had still insisted on seeing the temple ruins for himself and was also clearly a scholar in more than name.

"Alright everyone, I have a feeling that we've got a long walk ahead of us." Daylen said as he viewed the massive chamber that lay ahead.

"We're probably the first people outside of those cultists to walk these halls in centuries." Elissa remarked as she too scanned the sight.

"I doubt that the current occupants will be hospitable to our visit." Theron added seriously.

"I wonder how many cultists are in here?" Neria pondered.

"Enough for Duran to owe me another sovereign." Daylen joked as he led the way forward.

Daylen's words would prove true rather quickly as they ventured into the side chambers of the temple and promptly began defeating the cultists who attempted to stop them. It wasn't long before several enemy mages and more Reavers joined the battle, surprisingly it was Neria who took the lead in dealing with them. Her mastery of the ways of the arcane warrior was clearly evident as she cut through several Reavers at once as they struggled to harm her.

"Or maybe Duran will start having to pay Neria." Daylen joked as the group made their way through a door at the top of a long set of stairs.

"Maybe you will too, Daylen." she replied while grinning.

As they entered the chamber beyond the doors they were greeted by another mage who was accompanied by several archers and a pair of Ash Wraiths. Neria quickly summoned a neutralization glyph against the enemy mage as Elissa and Theron's wolf closed in on him while Theron began taking out the enemy archers who were firing at them from the top of a set of stairs. Meanwhile, Daylen quickly destroyed the ask wraiths with a cone of cold spell followed by crushing prison and stonefist spells. After the battle, they took a moment to make sure that no other surprises were awaiting them.

"These bastards are beginning to annoy me." Daylen remarked as he stared down at the remains of the Ash Wraiths. "I had my fill of crap like this when we fought our way through the tower."

"What were they? I recall Zathrian summoning similar creatures during our battle." Theron replied.

"What Zathrian summoned were shades, they're demons or spirits of the fade who appear in our realm without a host. Ash Wraiths are more powerful shades who've made bodies for themselves out of ashes." Neria explained.

"Right when I'd finally stopped having nightmares about that place." Elissa remarked in grimly.

"I seem to recall being able to get rid of your nightmares pretty easily." Daylen teased.

"Don't get cocky." Elissa replied while giving him a playful grin before leading the way further into the ruins.

The next room held an even more powerful Dust Wraith who was being supported by a mage, two Reavers and an archer from adjoining doorways. Daylen quickly hit the creature with a crushing prison spell as Neria used a neutralization glyph to cripple the enemy mage. She then activated her combat magic and proceeded to finish off the weakened Ash Wraith while Theron unleashed a critical shot and arrow of slaying against the enemy archer and mage, respectively. Elissa used her momentum to rapidly cut down the enemy Reavers, putting an end to the battle. Afterwards, Daylen took the opportunity to search the room. Inside a nearby chest he discovered what were unmistakably the final components of Theron's ancient elven armor set.

"Well now you have the gloves and I'm almost positive you'll be putting the whole set to good use pretty soon." Daylen commented as he handed Theron the gloves.

"I agree, I'm certain that this place holds dangers we've yet to see." Theron replied as he put the gloves on.

After putting the gloves on, Theron couldn't help but notice that Neria was staring him. "Is something wrong?" he asked curiously.

"No, nothing. I was just thinking how handsome you looked." she replied while smiling at him.

Theron returned the smile as he took her into his arms while caressing her cheek.

After a few moments Daylen interrupted the scene. "Are you two done flirting now? We do still have a job to do here." he joked while Elissa grinned.

The pair separated rather embarrassedly before following Daylen as he led the way further into the temple where they encountered several more pockets of resistance before reaching a set of stairs that seemed to lead into the mountain itself.

As the party ventured into the caverns of the mountain they were greeted by even more cultist Reavers and mages, but perhaps the biggest surprise came in the form of the dragonlings and drakes that attacked them. It was quickly becoming evident that the cultists were breeding dragons.

"What the hell are they thinking?!" Elissa shouted angrily after the party had killed yet another drake.

"This IS troubling to say the least." Theron commented.

"I'm not complaining." Daylen replied casually as he gathered another batch of scales. "Once I get these back to Wade, Neria will have an even better set of armor." he added while grinning.

"He won't have to measure me again, will he?" Neria asked apprehensively.

"He probably won't have to, but he likely will anyway. He is a perfectionist after all. Besides, Wade is the last guy you have to worry about getting handsy." Daylen replied while standing. "I'm pretty sure you aren't his type." he added while grinning.

They all laughed a bit before continuing their exploration of the caverns. They eventually discovered a very large chamber that held several Reavers, archers, drakes and dragonlings. There was also an unusual mage who appeared to be supervising whatever operation the area housed. This was clearly going to be a difficult confrontation.

Daylen took the initiative and summoned a blizzard that froze most of the opposition while Theron shattered the unfortunate recipients of the spell with critical shots and arrows of slaying. His wolf companion quickly pounced on any surviving dragonlings while Elissa closed in on the Reavers who were still standing and set to work decimating them. Neria however, noticed that the enemy mage was not only still standing, but also completely unharmed. He quickly drew a strange sword that appeared to be enchanted with lightning.

"A mage with a sword? He couldn't be!" she whispered to herself before drawing her own sword and bolting towards him.

Her suspicions were quickly confirmed when the man activated his own combat magic and engaged her in battle. As their swords clashed, the mage quickly used dispel magic to banish her aura and she immediately returned the favor with her own casting of dispel magic. Now they were both outside of their combat magic modes but still very much a danger to each other. Neria quickly summoned a swarm of insects to attack her opponent who instantly erected an anti-magic ward that nullified her spell. The man was now temporarily immune to all spells, but that included beneficial ones and Neria planned to exploit that. She quickly casted haste on herself and released a string of attacks with her sword, the enemy mage was caught off guard but eventually dispelled the effect. Unfortunately for him, the damage had been done. With the anti-magic ward still active, he couldn't heal himself and unlike Neria he wasn't wearing armor. As he struggled to strike at her with his unusual sword, she quickly blasted him across the room with a stonefist spell right as his anti-magic ward wore off. Afterwards, she approached the now dead mage, and grabbed the sword that he'd been wielding. It was definitely of elven make and very old, possibly dating back to the era when arcane warriors were still commonplace.

"Now THAT is a weapon worthy of my little sister." Daylen commented as he approached from behind.

"I agree, no one but Neria is deserving of such a blade." Theron added as he joined them.

"It's strange, it's almost as if I'm holding a staff. I can feel the power in it." Neria remarked as she examined the blade.

"I'd bet anything that it was forged specifically for an arcane warrior's use." Daylen remarked.

"So what are you going to call it?" Elissa asked as she too rejoined the group.

"It's name is Spellweaver, that's what I can sense from it anyway." Neria replied as she equipped the sword.

"Now I just need to find you a magical shield or something." Daylen mused.

"You really do put a lot of thought into these things, don't you?" Elissa asked curiously.

"Of course, I want all my friends at their best and using the best." Daylen replied simply and Elissa couldn't help but smile.

Not long afterwards, the group was once again navigating the caverns and slaughtering the occasional drake. They eventually reached yet another large chamber where they were greeted by a large bearded man with a battleaxe who was accompanied by a pair of mages and Reavers.

"Who are you! Why have you defiled our sanctuary with your presence!" he shouted angrily.

"We're looking for a very old urn containing the ashes of a long dead prophet that could possibly heal a very ill man. Your deranged cohorts attacked us and therefore had to die along with all the dragons you were breeding. Now I suggest you and your friends here get out of our way unless you want to join them. But you probably won't, which means I've just wasted another minute of my life humoring the possibility of sparing yet another group of imbeciles who will no doubt feel the need to throw their lives away." Daylen explained sardonically.

The man appeared to be processing what Daylen had just said before responding. "You seek the ashes?"

"No, we're here to sightsee." Daylen responded sarcastically. "Yes, my bearded friend, we are here for the ashes." he added in an exhausted tone.

"I am Father Kolgrim and I believe we can help each other. Perhaps, through Andraste's wisdom, her greatest enemy will become her greatest champion!" the man replied as a rather disturbing smile appeared on his face.

"How so?" Daylen asked cautiously.

"Beyond this chamber outside lies the resting place of the great Andraste's ashes. But they are a mere remnant of her former life. You see, Andraste has been reborn as a dragon, powerful and beautiful, truly she is more glorious than all the old gods combined! But her rebirth is not yet complete, for as long as the ashes remain she cannot be truly reborn into the magnificent being that she is meant to be!" Kolgrim exclaimed as a mad glint appeared in his eyes. "But sadly there is a hindrance to her rebirth, a foolish guardian who refuses to see the truth. You will enter the resting place, kill this guardian and purify the ashes with Andraste's newfound blood. Do this and I shall overlook your hubris and desecration of our sanctuary. I will also reward you by showing you ways of the Reaver." he added.

Daylen looked at the man for a long time before finally releasing a sigh while he massaged his temples. "Let me get this straight. You think Andraste is a dragon and you want me to pour dragon's blood on her ashes?" he asked in a weary voice before turning to Elissa. "Elissa, from now on if I hesitate to kill a group of lunatics the first chance I get, PLEASE step in." he added before immediately killing the mages in the room with a mana clash.

Elissa grinned as she engaged a now furious Kolgrim while Neria, Theron and his wolf laid waste to the pair of Reavers. Kolgrim's attacks proved to be quite powerful, unfortunately for him so were Elissa's and she was far faster. After building a staggering degree of momentum, she quickly executed the deranged cult leader with a flurry that utterly destroyed him. After the battle, the party was quickly alerted to the sounds of roaring outside the chamber.

"I know that sound. You bastards have done a superb job of ruining my day." Daylen remarked irritably as he looked down at the bodies of Kolgrim and his followers. "Theron, you might want to send your friend on his way, this is going to get ugly." he added seriously.

Theron agreed and quickly said his goodbyes to his wolf companion who begrudgingly left the way they came. Daylen then turned and faced his group of friends.

"Alright, there's no sugarcoating this. There's more than likely going to be a high dragon waiting for us outside. I'm the only one here who has experience fighting one and of course it nearly killed me. Honestly, I'd prefer it if you and Neria sat this one out." he said as he glanced at Elissa who immediately began voicing her protest along with Neria. "But, I know that's out of the question." he quickly added before they could verbally railroad him. "Once we get out there, I want everyone to stay behind me until I give the signal. And Theron, make sure your shots count, you'll know when to fire." he added seriously.

Theron nodded and before long they were all making their way outside the mountain. Soaring overhead was a massive high dragon that promptly landed in a clearing at the bottom of the slope on which they were walking. There was a vicious and bitter wind lashing the mountainside, a fact that Daylen had been counting on.

Daylen suddenly came to a stop after activating spell might, he then summoned a frightening blizzard spell that promptly engulfed the beast that awaited them. But Daylen wasn't finished, he then summoned a tempest spell that quickly merged with the blizzard creating an awesome storm of the century combo. The storm was extraordinary and seemed to batter the mountain itself as it mercilessly tore into the dragon who attempted to take flight but was immediately sent crashing back to the ground and wounded further by the brutal bolts of electricity that the storm was producing. After the storm finally subsided, the battered and enraged form of the dragon laid at the foot of the slope where the group stood.

Without hesitation Theron began firing a string of shattering shots that punctured several vital areas on the beast's body. Daylen added to the carnage by rapidly firing bolts from his staff while simultaneously casting stonefist and arcane bolt spells. The combined assault weakened the dragon even further, but it still had the strength to target the party with a vicious breath attack. As it opened its mouth and released a sea of flames, Neria instinctively raced to the front of the group and erected a shimmering shield that blocked the onslaught. As the flames collided with her barrier, the path of fire was parted, splitting the sea of flames into two divergent paths away from her friends. Undeterred, the wounded beast persisted and Neria knew that she wouldn't be able to maintain the shield for much longer, her mana reserves were already being pushed to their limit.

Fortunately, the dragon ended the attack just as her shield collapsed. As she fell to her knees in exhaustion, Elissa bolted ahead of everyone, swords drawn. The beast quickly reared its head and attempted to bite down on her, but she was ready and not only blocked the attack, but also created two rather large and vicious gashes on the sides of the creature's face. The dragon was even more incensed and seemed determined to crush her with its jaws. As it made another attempt, Elissa readied her swords and sank them into the roof of the beast's mouth as it tried to devour her. As the dragon's blood gushed forward, she withdrew her blades and watched as the beast toppled over, dead.

The group took several minutes to recuperate after the battle. "My girlfriend, the dragon slayer." Daylen finally mused after awhile.

"I'm not sure Aedan's ego will survive this one." Neria giggled.

Afterwards Daylen and Theron began harvesting the creature's scales and hide. "Wade might actually faint when I show up with this, I can only imagine what he'll make with these." Daylen said casually.

They also looted the beast's treasure horde which included several high value relics, including an enchanted pair of gloves, the Storm Talons, that Daylen quickly equipped. Having rested and collected everything of note, they proceeded to the temple that laid ahead.

As they entered the temple, they were greeted by a serene man dressed in armor. "Welcome pilgrims."

"You're the guardian I take it? You'll have to forgive me, but my patience for formalities is at its limit right now. We just had to fight through a horde of psychotic cultists and slay a high dragon. Oh and by the way, that dragon wasn't actually Andraste was it? Me being a mage is already a mark against me according to the Chantry, and I'd hate to make things worse by slaughtering reincarnated prophets. So you know, I just want to make sure." Daylen remarked sarcastically.

"No, the dragon was not our prophet Andraste." the guardian began. He then explained how he was among the first Disciples of Andraste who brought her ashes from Tevinter after she was burned and how it was his duty to watch over the ashes and guide pilgrims until the day the Tevinter Imperium was no more. He also explained how the descendents of his compatriots devolved into a dragon worshipping cult thanks to Kolgrim's ancestor.

"Well, it's good to know that I'm not anymore tainted in sin than I was before. By the way we've pretty much wiped out the cult, so...I guess you really are the last disciple now." Daylen commented somewhat grimly.

"It was the will of the maker. They forgot long ago that Andraste was merely a prophet, it is the maker who we must revere." the guardian responded.

"I would have to disagree." Theron remarked calmly.

The guardian simply stared at Theron for a moment before Daylen decided to interject. "So exactly how do we get to the ashes?"

"You must prove yourselves by completing the gauntlet. Should you succeed, you will be allowed to visit the urn and take a pinch of the ashes." the guardian explained.

"Fine, let's get this over with." Daylen replied.

"A moment of your time first." the guardian said before staring at Daylen. "You're a cynical mage who wields power greater than most. You've proven to be an unlikely but capable leader and a dedicated friend. Your bravery is without question and your loyalty to those close to you is undeniable. You won't hesitate to risk your life for them, but is it really for their sakes? Or are you simply trying to make up for the one friend you failed to save, the friend that you betrayed. Jowan was almost killed because of your betrayal and he lost the one thing that mattered most to him, Lily. Do you regret failing and betraying him?"

"Is this part of the test then? Fine, I'll play along. I risk my life for my friends because I want to, because they're what matter the most to me. Jowan made his own mistakes and now he'll have to live with them, maybe even die with them. He betrayed me as much as I betrayed him and I don't obsess about either. I'm moving forward and I'm not looking back." Daylen said resolutely.

"I see, then you don't dwell on past mistakes, neither yours or others." the guardian said before turning to Elissa. "You're a fearless warrior, undaunted by the greatest of challenges and you have unparalleled strength. You're also a devoted friend and companion to the man you love. But you're also plagued by guilt. Guilt over losing your family and guilt that the man responsible still lives. But your greatest guilt lies in the fact that in spite of all the tragedies that have befallen you and your brother, you have discovered happiness. Happiness when you're with the friends you've made, but most importantly happiness with the man who's held your heart since you were both children. When you're with him a part of you feels that it's an insult to the memory of your slain loved ones. Do you still hold that guilt, even now when you both grow closer by the day?"

"Yes! Alright!" Elissa shouted angrily. "A small part of me does feel guilty when I'm with Daylen. I ask myself, what right do I have to be happy? Mother, Father, Oriana, little Oren and maybe Fergus too, they're all dead while I'm losing myself in bliss with Daylen. Meanwhile, Aedan's carrying around that horrible image of a dead Oriana and Oren along with all the guilt that goes with it. So yes, a small part of me does still feel guilty, no matter how wonderful the rest of me feels." Elissa admitted.

There was silence for awhile before Daylen finally broke it. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"What?!" Elissa yelled angrily.

"Elissa, there isn't a single member of your family who'd wish you misery. Especially your parents, you and Aedan being happy in the future, that's what allowed them to face death with no regrets. So I'm going to do everything in my power to keep making you happy, in fact I'll be working harder to erase that small and stupid part of you that feels guilty." Daylen said defiantly.

"You...you've already started to." Elissa replied quietly as he embraced her.

The guardian then turned his attention to Neria. "You're a gentle mage with a kind heart and a willingness to help others. A dedicated friend and confidante, but deep down you harbor a resentment. A resentment towards yourself and your surrogate brother. After all, neither of you were at the tower when the blood mages launched their attack. Many of your friends and apprentices who looked up to you fell. Do you still regret not being there?"

"Yes...Daylen and I, we could have done something, maybe saved more people from Uldred. Thoughts like that still linger sometimes, but in the end we set things right. We didn't save everyone, but there is still a circle and that makes me happy." Neria replied quietly.

The guardian nodded before facing Theron. "The proud Dalish hunter, you have the wisdom of your people's keepers and the skill of their warriors. Always calm, your insights have been of great benefit to the friends you now walk with. But you sometimes wonder whether you still deserve to be counted among your people. You now spend more of your time walking among human lands with humans than with your own people and the forests that you wandered in the past. What would Tamlen say? After all, you gave up hope of saving him to travel with humans. Do you still consider yourself Dalish?"

"It is true that I sometimes wonder if I can still be considered Dalish, but despite those doubts the Dalish will always be part of who I am and I'm sure Tamlen would be outraged. But he would also come to support my decision, that's the kind of friend he was. No matter what doubts I sometimes have, I've never regretted the path that I've chosen." Theron said firmly.

The guardian took a moment to survey the group before opening the way forward and disappearing.

"Charming fellow, isn't he?" Daylen remarked before leading the way into the next room.

The next room held the spirits of several important figures in Andraste's history who presented a series of riddles to solve. Daylen and Neria easily solved them all opening the way forward into the next room. As they moved forward they encountered the images of Jowan, Bryce Cousland and Tamlen.

"I hate this place. Shouldn't you be rotting in a dungeon somewhere in Redliffe?" Daylen said derisively. "Unless you're some phantom who's here to try and make me and Neria feel guilty." he added angrily.

"Is that really your purpose Jowan?" Neria asked quietly.

"No. You've both come so far and gotten so powerful. You aren't simply the mages that I could never be, you're the mages that all the apprentices should aspire to be. That's all I wanted to say." the spirit Jowan said before presenting them with a pair of amulets and disappearing.

Meanwhile Elissa was staring teary eyed at the image of her lost older brother. "My baby sister has come so far. I'm so proud of you, we all are. Be safe and take care of Aedan." spirit Fergus said as Elissa quietly nodded before presenting her with an amulet and disappearing.

"You've come a long way from wandering the wilderness in search of game." spirit Tamlen said as he faced Theron.

"Indeed. Even if you are just a spirit or trick of this temple, it is good to see you again Tamlen." Theron replied earnestly.

"Continue to walk your own path Theron." Tamlen said before presenting him with an amulet and disappearing.

They were all quiet for a moment before proceeding to the next room which held their greatest shock yet. Standing before them were their spectral doppelgangers.

"This can't be good." Daylen said seriously.

Suddenly Spectral Daylen activated spell might before grinning while Spectral Neria activated her combat magic as Spectral Elissa drew her swords and Spectral Theron drew his bow.

"I hate being right sometimes." Daylen lamented as he prepared to literally fight himself while the others did the same.


	34. Chapter 34: A New Ally

Chapter 34: A New Ally

"Dammit! Why did I have to be so awesome?" Daylen yelled angrily as he erected a spell shield to guard himself against his doppelganger's stonefist spell. They'd been battling for some time now and the fight was proving to be a stalemate. The doppelganger had all of Daylen's spells and expertise. He was able to match Daylen move for move and guard against his attempts at launching an offensive. The situation was just as bad for the others who were also unable to defeat their copies.

Suddenly Daylen's double fired a shock spell that Daylen quickly countered with his own shock spell. The two spells collided and cancelled each other out as Spectral Daylen followed up with a fireball that Daylen absorbed with another casting of spell shield. "I'm really starting to piss myself off!" he muttered angrily as he tried to think of a strategy to defeat himself. Unfortunately, his clone didn't give him the opportunity as he transformed into a bear and rushed Daylen. Daylen quickly transformed himself and the two beasts were now locked in a vicious close range grapple. Eventually they separated and both returned to human form before simultaneously firing cone of cold spells that once again collided and cancelled each other out.

Daylen had to end this soon, but he had no idea how. The doppelganger appeared to know everything that he was going to do before he did it. It was well versed in his tactics and had all of his powers, the damn thing even fought like he did. Suddenly, a thought came to Daylen and he decided to run with it while there was a gap in the battle. He quickly erected an anti-magic ward and bolted towards Spectral Daylen who appeared to be taken by surprise but immediately fired a flurry of spells that were nullified upon making contact with Daylen. After closing in on his clone, Daylen unleashed a vicious series of strikes with his staff that knocked his double onto the floor. He then slammed the end of his staff into the doppelganger's stomach, finally dispersing the clone.

Meanwhile, Neria and her clone were locked in a standoff that was beginning to tax her endurance and patience. They'd both activated their combat magic and haste spells, the result being two ethereal warriors clashing at high speed at regular intervals and healing themselves when necessary. They'd even dispelled each others' spells at one point only to activate them once more after recovering their mana. Neria knew that she couldn't continue maintaining the current intensity of their fight. "Sorry me." she whispered before closing in on her double and bring her sword down in a brutal swing that the doppelganger blocked instantly. Before Spectral Neria could follow up with a counterattack, Neria blasted the clone with a stonefist spell that knocked her off her feet and sent her flying to an empty area of the room. As the double struggled to her feet, Neria hit her with a death hex quickly followed by a death cloud spell. The doppelganger immediately suffered massive damage from the entropic death spell combo before dissipating.

Theron was also finding the fight with his counterpart a frustrating endeavor. The two hunters had been firing arrows at each other at a nonstop pace. The clone's marksmanship was proving to be just as superb as Theron's own as their shots collided and cancelled each other in mid air. After awhile Theron decided to act on a gamble that he'd considered earlier during the battle. He began to rapid fire shots as he advanced on his clone who switched to defensive firing. As each dodged the other's arrows, Theron initiated a slide as he closed in on his double. Before the doppelganger could adjust his aim Theron had already trained a critical shot at the clone's face, Spectral Theron was quickly dispersed after the shot was fired and Theron calmly stood to his feet afterwards. "That was slightly unnerving." he said to himself as he surveyed the spot where just moments before his double had stood.

Elissa was embroiled in arguably the most brutal duel as her clone proved to be just as relentless and powerful as her. The two warriors appeared to be a storm of blades as their swords clashed and cut through the air barely missing their targets whose reflexes appeared to be superhuman. They'd both been consistently building momentum during their battle and the increased speed and destruction of their strikes was more than noticeable. Suddenly, both women unleashed a whirlwind of strikes that clashed and apparently sent one of Elissa's swords flying in the opposite direction. As her double attempted to exploit the advantage, Elissa quickly gripped her remaining sword with both of her hands and spun around using the momentum and added strength of a two-handed grip to sever her double's head before she could react. After the clone dissipated, Elissa calmly retrieved her other sword. "What else is this place going to throw at us?" she asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I don't know, but I'm damn sure going to be taking a day off to relax after all of this." Daylen replied as the group reconvened at the door that led into what was presumably their next trial.

They all nodded their agreement before proceeding into the next chamber which held a fairly challenging bridge puzzle that Daylen was more than happy to quickly solve after having waged war against himself. As they made their way to the final room, they were met by a small altar with a riddle inscribed on it. Behind the altar an intense wall of flames towered above them.

"How are we supposed to get past that?" Elissa asked while eyeing the flames.

"I have to say, between this and fighting our way past all of those dragons, I've had my fill of fire for the day." Theron commented with a slight note of exhaustion.

"I have some balm I can use to treat any burns you got today." Neria responded while smiling at him.

"I'd like that." Theron said as he gazed at her warmly.

"I'm more bruised than burned myself." Elissa remarked as she massaged the back of her neck.

"I intend to address every bruise later." Daylen replied charmingly before turning his attention to the riddle. After spending a few moments reading and contemplating, he turned his attention back to the group. "We have to get naked and walk through the flames." he said in a matter of fact tone.

"What?!" Elissa, Neria and Theron shouted in unison.

"I think we're all agreed that when we recount this story, this part gets left out." Daylen joked.

"Are you sure about this?" Neria asked nervously.

"Take a look for yourself." Daylen replied as he pointed to the riddle inscribed on the altar.

After examining the writing and taking a minute to consider the dilemma herself, Neria finally sighed and nodded her agreement. "I guess it is the only way...but Daylen, don't you dare look!" she added threateningly.

"What kind of degenerate to you take me for? What kind of weirdo would want to see his little sister naked? And no offense Theron, but I have absolutely no desire to see you nude either." Daylen replied incredulously.

"The feeling is most definitely mutual Daylen." Theron responded awkwardly.

"Then we're all agreed. My eyes will stayed glued to Elissa." Daylen said as he faced her.

"They'd better." Elissa replied in an uneasy tone.

Several minutes later the party made their way through the flames after thoroughly disrobing. The guardian awaited them on the other side and congratulated them for completing the gauntlet and proving themselves worthy. He then motioned towards an urn that rested at the top of a set of stairs. After quickly redressing and swearing to each other that they'd carry this secret to their graves, they slowly approached the most sacred object in all of Andrastian religion.

"What a cruel joke by fate to have a faithless bastard like me be the one to discover these." Daylen said as he carefully took a small pinch of the ashes that rested within the ageless relic.

"Maybe it was more important that a good man be the one to find them." Elissa replied proudly.

"She's right Daylen." Neria added warmly.

"I don't claim to be an expert on the Andrastian faith, but I believe that you're a man who can be trusted with things of this nature, one of very few in fact." Theron said confidently.

Daylen was slightly embarrassed by their words and simply shook his head in disbelief before leading the way outside the temple where the group made the trek back to the entrance where Brother Genitivi waited.

"You're back! Well, how did it go? Did you find the ashes?" Brother Genitivi asked excitedly.

Daylen quickly showed the him a small pouch containing the pinch of ashes that he'd collected.

"Oh maker! I'm not worthy! What was it like?" he asked.

"There was a guardian and some trials that we had to face. I'd love to elaborate further, but to be honest the whole experience along with fighting through hordes of cultists and dragons has left me pretty exhausted." Daylen replied.

"Fascinating! Perhaps now the Chantry will acknowledge my research. This is simply amazing beyond words! I have to return to Denerim, everyone should know what we've discovered here! Pilgrims should be allowed to visit. There's so much to do, but please pay me a visit when you get the chance. I'm not a wealthy man, but I'd like to see you rewarded for everything you've done. Farewell friend." Brother Genitivi said fondly before making his way out of the temple.

"Nice guy, the Chantry could use more like him." Daylen commented after watching the man leave. "Theron, I need you to contact one of your feathered friends. We need to send a message to the others and have them meet us in Redcliffe. With any luck, the arl will be waking up soon."

Theron nodded and afterwards they all made their way outside the temple and set out for Redcliffe.

Sometime later, all of the young wardens and their allies found themselves as guests once more in Redcliffe Castle. Daylen, Aedan, and Duran waited patiently as Wynne and Neria administered the ashes to Arl Eamon, while Bann Teagan and Arlessa Isolde waited on bated breaths for the results. Within moments the arl awoke from his long slumber. As he scanned the room, he immediately recognized his brother.

"Teagan, what's going on?" the arl asked weakly.

"Please calm yourself brother, you have been deathly ill for quite awhile." the bann replied.

"Isolde?" the arl called.

"I'm here my love." the arlessa replied as she knelt beside her husband.

"Connor? Is our son safe?" the arl asked with an unmistakable note of concern.

"He is, though many others have died." she replied bracingly.

"Brother, I'm afraid that a lot has happened since you left us and very little of it is good news." the bann said seriously.

"Then tell me all of it." the arl replied as he readied himself for the bad news.

Bann Teagan spent the next few hours explaining current events in Ferelden, Loghain's betrayal and power grab, his attempt on the arl's life and the resulting consequences on Redcliffe, as well as the timely intervention of Daylen and the others. It was a lot to take in, but the arl seemed to handle it quite well, far better than most anyway. Later that day he gathered all of the wardens in his entrance hall.

"My brother has briefed me on the situation. First of all, I'd like to thank all of you. You've not only kept my lands safe, but also my family. I also owe you my life itself and I doubt I can ever truly repay you. But I intend to try, would you be willing to accept a reward for your services?" the arl asked.

"Sure, why not?" Daylen mused.

"Then allow me to offer the eternal hospitality of Redcliffe. Know that you will always be welcome here as guests and heroes. I'd would also like to present you with a shield that is used by the most accomplished of my knights." the arl said as he handed the shield to Daylen who promptly gifted it to Alistair.

"There is one more thing I can offer you. I understand that there are several warriors among you and that you'll likely be leading armies into battle quite soon. I have such experience myself and if you're willing, I can teach you to be champions who inspire your allies and strike fear into your enemies." the arl explained.

"I'm in." Aedan replied.

"Count me in too." Duran added.

"Champions, huh? It suits you both." Daylen remarked.

"We can begin your training as soon as we settle the other matters at hand." the arl said before facing all of the young wardens. "I've decided that our best way to challenge Loghain is to call for a Landsmeet and to present a stronger candidate for the throne than his daughter, the queen. I propose we use Alistair."

Daylen had anticipated this, after all Alistair had the strongest claim and Loghain would have a harder time dismissing a candidate with royal blood. Alistair had come clean with the others weeks ago and for the most part, nothing had changed between them. The problem here would be convincing Alistair to go along with this plan of action.

"What?! Why me?" Alistair asked, clearly shocked by the plan.

"Alistair, you have a responsibility. Ferelden needs a leader and if not you, then I would have to support Loghain for the sake of the country despite his crimes. Is that what you want?" the arl asked seriously.

"What? No!" Alistair replied, outraged at the mere suggestion. After a few moments he calmed down and relented. "Alright, let's get on with this."

"Good, now it will take some time to send word and gather our allies. I suggest you use that time to secure any remaining treaties you have. Maker knows we'll need all the help we can get."

Afterwards, the meeting was adjourned and Aedan and Duran took their leave to follow the arl, but not before Duran stopped to talk with Elissa.

"I always knew you were a firebrand, I mean slaying high dragons!" he laughed.

"Daylen softened it up and...just shut up!" she shouted with a note of embarrassment in her voice.

"Well I just figured if your that strong now, imagine how strong you'll be if you study this." Duran said before handing her a book.

"A berserker manual? Are you trying to make fun of me Duran?" Elissa asked threateningly.

"Not at all. I mentioned your talents and disposition to Gorim and he was kind enough to give me that book to pass along to you." Duran explained before chuckling. "I've got a feeling that we're getting closer to the endgame here and we're all going to have be at our best. Daylen's supplied us with the best damn equipment in Thedas and he's still honing his own skills. I just figured we could all pick up some of the slack and I know you worry about him. So just consider this my way of doing what I can to support you." Duran added seriously.

"Duran...thank you." Elissa replied quietly as the dwarven warrior turned to follow Aedan out of the room.

After watching them leave, she turned her attention to the book. As she watched Daylen laughing with Natia across the room she smiled. She then turned and began making her way towards the castle courtyard, she had some training to do.

That night, Daylen decided to take a stroll in the village. Dog was happy to walk with him and Daylen was grateful for the company. Several villagers greeted him and invited him to various gatherings. Normally Daylen would've been keen to accept their hospitality, but right now he had other thoughts occupying his mind. As he stopped at the shore of Lake Calenhad, he couldn't help but recall the awful events that had plagued the village and the horde of undead creatures that he and the others had to battle in that very spot. He took a seat on the pier as Dog laid down beside him.

"I'm not cut out for this." he said quietly to himself.

"You seem to have done a remarkable job thus far, so I must disagree." a familiar voice replied gently.

Daylen quickly turned to see Wynne standing behind him. "Good evening Wynne, it's a little surprising to see you out at this time of night."

"You're absolutely right, I really should be heading to bed soon given how advanced in years I am." Wynne joked as Daylen grinned. "So, may I ask what's troubling you?"

Daylen sat in silence for awhile before responding. "Orzammar is going to be our next stop and I know it won't be easy for Duran or Natia. They're both pretending it's no big deal, but I can tell. We'll be walking into a firestorm Wynne and my plan for dealing with it may not go over well with everyone." Daylen replied seriously.

"Your plans have worked out rather well so far and we all trust your judgment Daylen." Wynne said serenely.

"But I'm not always right Wynne. Who the hell am I to make these decisions? Less than a year ago, my biggest concerns were keeping Neria safe and getting a date with Petra. Now I'm deciding the fate of kingdoms and leading armies to war against darkspawn. I was always prepared to fight them and I was prepared to die doing it, but deciding that for scores of other people that I've never met, who the hell am I, really?" Daylen asked wearily.

The elderly mage surveyed the young man for a moment before taking a seat next to him. "You are a lot of things to many different people. To Irving you are one of his star pupils and perhaps his greatest achievement, arrogant as that may seem. To the apprentices and the other mages you are an inspiration and a hero. You are in fact, the latter to a great many people outside of the tower. To your fellow wardens and allies you are a friend, leader, brother, and a great deal more. Daylen, no one is born with infallibility. You may have joined the wardens hoping to do nothing more than use your power to help avert a calamity, but given what's happened, I must say that I for one am glad that fate decided to choose you for more." Wynne explained.

"And what if fate decided to directly hand me someone else's life, to make me their decider? Someone that I have every reason to hate, someone that I've known for years and once called a friend, someone whose actions led to an untold number of lives lost and nearly destroyed an entire village. What if I was in essence, suddenly called upon to decide their FATE?" Daylen asked bitterly.

Wynne remained silent, she suspected that she knew what this was about. But she wanted Daylen to share it himself without being prodded.

"Arl Eamon wants me to decide what to do with Jowan and I have no idea what to do. When I first met him again in that dungeon and discovered what he'd done, I wanted to kill him myself but Neria stopped me. No matter what I decide, he'll still die. Either executed by templars or the arl's men and I can't say I blame either at this point. Dammit! Why leave it to me? Don't I have enough to worry about?" Daylen explained angrily.

There was once again silence between the two mages as Wynne considered the situation. "Jowan is indeed guilty of many terrible things. He dabbled in blood magic and used it to force an escape from the circle. He also acted as an assassin for Loghain and his actions were partially responsible for what led to the unspeakable atrocities that occurred here. But despite all of this, I don't believe he ever acted out of malice. Foolishness and desperation, but never cruelty. And regardless of what has passed between the two of you, I am certain that there isn't anyone else that he'd trust with this decision." Wynne replied gently.

"And if it's the wrong one?" Daylen asked quietly.

"It will be the decision that YOU made and we will all support it. I am also certain that Jowan will accept it with no regrets." Wynne replied as she stood.

"Thanks, Wynne." Daylen said sincerely. It was during times like these that he was especially glad to have the senior mage close by.

"You're welcome, Daylen. Make sure you don't sit out here for too long, there's a chill in the air and we don't need you catching a cold." she said slightly sternly as she began making her way back towards the castle.

Daylen grinned slightly before once again losing himself in thought as he stroked Dog's ears. As Wynne walked through the village, she noticed that tears had started to fall from her eyes. Fate, circumstance, or whatever the workings of the world should be called, it didn't matter. At that moment all she could think of was how cruel it was to have a pair of children who once snuck sweets from the pantry together grow up to become this different and force such a ruthless impasse for them both.


	35. Chapter 35: Redemption

Chapter 35: Redemption

"Daylen! Daylen! I did it, see!" Connor shouted excitedly while dashing into his father's study where the young mage and the arl were chatting while having tea. The young boy was eager to show his mentor the small ball of light in the palm his hand.

"Well, Well, Well. Hmm...Alright then. A promise is a promise. After dinner tonight, I'll show you whatever spell you want to see in the courtyard." Daylen replied while grinning.

"Hurray! I want see an inferno, no wait a blizzard or maybe a tempest." Connor said eagerly.

"You can only pick one and I recommend something smaller that won't cause too much collateral damage to your father's property." Daylen replied slightly sternly.

"Okay! Maybe a fireball then! Oh, I can't wait!" Connor exclaimed before speeding off down the hallway.

Daylen had recently taken over as the boy's tutor while staying at the castle. Given the situation at the circle's tower and the current preparations for war, it only made sense for Connor to remain where he was for the time being and for someone to supervise his training. Neria was also lending a hand, as was Wynne who had far more experience teaching than they did. But Connor seemed to respond the best to Daylen, which came as no surprise given how much the boy seemed to idolize him.

"I never got the chance to thank you for helping Connor while you're here." Arl Eamon said graciously.

"It's no big deal arl and to be honest I enjoy teaching the kid. He has a lot of talent and someday he'll be an incredible mage." Daylen replied fondly as he stared down the hall where Connor had run.

The arl suddenly got a sad look on his face and Daylen immediately knew why. "For what it's worth, you have my sympathies. I know what it's like for nobles to have children who are born with magic. Most commoners consider it an embarrassment or worse, but given the Chantry's view on preventing mages from holding any power or authority...well I'm sorry." Daylen added quietly.

"I imagine that you of all people would understand better than most. I recognized the name Amell when you first mentioned it and the Cousland twins mentioned your shared past several times." Arl Eamon replied before sighing. "The truth is I'd prefer that Connor grow up to be a good man more than anything else, a man worthy enough to be admired, a man like you." the he added.

Daylen was taken aback by the sudden praise. "There are far better men in the world than me arl, I'm not worthy of your praise and I'm certainly not worthy of Connor's adulation. I'm just a guy doing what he must to try and stem the tide of evil and getting pretty damn lucky along the way." he replied in a cynical tone.

The arl continued to stare at him for awhile before speaking once more. "Well, I won't bother bringing up all that you've done for me personally or everything that you've done for Redcliffe. Nor will I recount the tales that your friends and allies have shared. Some say that the measure of a man lies in the loyalty that he commands and everyone who follows you does so without question. More than that, they're all very fond of you, especially the Cousland daughter. I couldn't ask for a better example for Connor to follow."

"Once again, I appreciate the flattery but I'm not deserving and I'm fairly certain the arlessa would disagree." Daylen replied seriously.

"Ah, yes. I would once again like to ask that you forgive Isolde for her...transgressions. She is a pious woman, but more importantly, she loves Connor. The thought of never seeing him again has no doubt weighed heavily on her, I know that doesn't excuse what she's done but-"

"You're a good man arl and during these last few weeks I've grown to see why Alistair trusts you so much. Bann Teagan is too and I know for a fact that the villagers are grateful to him for his dedication to them. There are plenty of scumbag lords who would have left them to their fates and taken the first opportunity to save themselves. With that being said and with all due respect, I find your wife deplorable. I'm more than happy to be civil towards her, but I'd much rather avoid her if at all possible." Daylen interjected, rather audaciously.

If the arl was offended, he certainly didn't show it. He simply stared at Daylen for a few moments longer before releasing another sigh. "I understand, given your history and the fact that you yourself are a mage. Though I do wish the two of you could come to some sort of amiable terms, at least for Connor's sake." he lamented. "My would be assassin certainly didn't aid in easing Isolde's perception of magic or those who wield it. His recent escape hasn't helped matters either." the arl added with a slight tone of irritability.

It had been over a week since Jowan had orchestrated a rather brazen escape that had utterly baffled everyone in the castle, except for Daylen.

"Escaping has always been his strong point arl. But you can't run from redemption." Daylen replied calmly.

"Quite true, but I must admit, his fleeing before receiving judgment speaks volumes of his cowardice. I can only hope that someday he gets what's coming to him." the arl responded in a slightly angry tone.

"Cowardice is another one of his strong points and I don't think you should worry. I doubt Loghain will be extending any offers of assistance again and Jowan is ill suited to survive on his own." Daylen replied coolly.

"You're no doubt correct, I still find it difficult to believe that you and he grew up together. Could two paths be more divergent? Anyway, I'm rambling now. I should go and check on Aedan and Duran, their progress has been, well...astounding. It pains me to admit it, but they both put my finest knights to shame." the arl said before chuckling.

"Yeah, well they are among the best. So is Elissa, I heard she's pretty much mastered harnessing her rage." Daylen replied casually.

"That my young friend is an understatement if there ever was one. My men are too terrified to even approach the courtyard when she's practicing. Heed my words Daylen, don't ever get on her bad side." the arl joked.

"That's a lesson I already learned a long time ago when we were both children and I broke her favorite toy horse. It took me years to dig myself out of that one, so trust me, I won't be making that mistake again." Daylen replied before both men laughed.

After excusing himself, Daylen began strolling the castle. It had been a nice change of pace to be able to relax as guests for once and enjoy some free hospitality. But he knew that once Elissa, Aedan and Duran had completed their training they'd have to begin the trek to Orzammar and Daylen would have to survey the current political situation for himself and analyze the workings of Orzammar's underworld. Meddling in both would more than likely require getting his hands dirty, but he was prepared for that. He had made up his mind long ago that regardless of the current circumstances, he'd be enacting his own plans. Duncan had put it best himself a long time ago, 'The darkspawn threat demands that I'm successful.'

As he turned a corner, he was surprised to find Morrigan. "And how is my favorite Witch of the Wilds today?" Daylen greeted.

"Tis a pleasant enough day so far and therefore I cannot complain." she replied in a dull manner.

"Is that so? Well, would our lovely witch care to walk with me for a bit. Unless you'd find the excursion too boring or unworthy of your time." Daylen joked.

Morrigan smiled before joining him. "Boring is one word that I'd never use to describe anything about you."

"Honestly, that's an honor coming from you." Daylen replied while grinning as they continued to walk the halls of the castle.

After awhile they stopped at a window that overlooked the courtyard where an energetic Elissa was furiously training.

"She has certainly improved a great deal in a very short span of time." Morrigan commented.

"I'm pretty sure she'd hate hearing that from you, but I happen to agree." Daylen replied.

"Tis not only her, they have all progressed considerably in their chosen disciplines." Morrigan added.

"They have and I'm grateful for that. Things are about to get far more dangerous than before." Daylen remarked seriously.

Morrigan took a moment to look at Daylen. It had always amazed her how he normally wore the mask of a fool and yet he could drop the facade at a moment's notice whenever the situation called for it. He was always far more formidable then he let on and perhaps that was part of the trap that inevitably led to his enemies' demise. She had once again begun smiling without realizing it, a habit that she'd developed while spending time with him.

"So, I noticed that the child who resides in this castle has taken quite a liking to you." she finally commented.

"Oh, you noticed that did you? Surprising." Daylen replied casually.

"And why exactly is that surprising?" Morrigan responded with a note of irritability in her voice.

"I just never expected you of all people to take notice of children. I recall you once telling me how they're 'Filthy, smelly things, full of snot and tears.'" Daylen joked as he recounted the memory.

"Indeed and I stand by that opinion. I was simply pointing out the fact that you seem to have a certain charm with them. Have you considered someday having some of your own?" Morrigan asked casually.

Daylen couldn't help but laugh. "Where did this all come from?" he asked after his laughter finally subsided.

"Tis a simple question. If you do not wish to answer so be it." Morrigan replied plainly.

Daylen considered the topic for a moment before responding. "Whether or not I have considered having children is irrelevant. I'm a Grey Warden and that means fighting darkspawn till the end of my days. There are also certain...tradeoffs that Alistair mentioned awhile back that will likely prevent any of us from siring or bearing kids."

"Is that so? Tis a shame." Morrigan lamented.

"Not really, I'm no lord or king. Part of me does regret the fact that Elissa and I likely won't...you know what, never mind." Daylen replied dismissively.

Morrigan stared at him for a moment before replying. "I disagree. If you were to die without leaving behind a progeny, it would be an immense loss to the world given your power and skills."

"Wow Morrigan, I'm touched." Daylen joked. "But like I said before, being a Grey Warden precludes any possibility of children." Daylen replied in a matter of fact tone.

"With another warden you mean." Morrigan commented before casually strolling off.

Later that day, Daylen dazzled Connor with a fantastic display of spell work in the castle's courtyard. "Amazing!" the child shouted eagerly as he took in the sight of Daylen effortlessly juggling several balls of flame. He eventually tossed the balls of fire into the sky and detonated them creating a rather brilliant spectacle. Afterwards, Daylen took a bow before walking over and taking a seat by a still awed Connor.

"Will I be able to do that someday?" he finally asked.

"If you work hard and keep practicing, sure." Daylen replied while smiling.

"I will! Someday I'll be as powerful as you, I promise. Then I can fight demons and darkspawn too!" Connor said eagerly.

Daylen simply placed a hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair as he continued smiling. Before long, the arlessa came to collect him for bed. After lodging his usual complaints and pleading with her to allow him to stay up later, Connor eventually relented and returned to the castle. For awhile Daylen remained sitting on the steps before realizing that the arlessa was still standing behind him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked politely.

The arlessa bit her lip and hesitated before speaking. "Magic runs in my family and the men who wielded it were all thoroughly awful and wicked. That was one of the reasons that I didn't want Connor...I owe you a great deal for what you've done for my family and Connor looks up to you, for good reason I think. I just wanted to thank you and wish you well in your crusade against the darkspawn."

Daylen simply continued sitting and after a rather extended silence between them the arlessa decided to make her way back inside the castle. "There are plenty of wicked men who don't have magic as an excuse. One of them tried to have your husband killed and another had my friends' family murdered. Awful men are awful regardless of their circumstances but Connor won't become such a man, of that I'm certain."

Arlessa continued to stare at Daylen's back as he sat on the steps of the entrance to the castle before nodding and quietly entering the castle. "I still don't like her." Daylen muttered to himself as he looked up into the night sky.

"Master Amell! Master Amell!" the young mage shouted as he rushed into the entrance hall where Daylen was relaxing with Elissa, Aedan, Neria and Theron.

"Godric, how many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Daylen." Daylen replied in an exasperated tone as he faced the young mage.

Several days earlier while traveling, he and Neria had encountered a trio of mages who'd been making their way to Redcliffe on Irving's orders. They were apparently a small advanced force who'd be responsible for bolstering Redcliffe's resources. Two newly harrowed mages and a senior enchanter, who'd been in the process of decimating a rather large group of darkspawn when Daylen and Neria arrived. They were quite impressed with their skills and the young mages were eager to meet them. Unfortunately, Daylen and Neria's reputations had now reached near legendary status back at the tower and they both had to put up with not only an annoying level of hero worship, but the ridiculous titles that the youngsters insisted on adding in front of their names. Hell, they weren't much older than these kids!

"Sorry, sir." the young mage responded apologetically.

"Dammit, sir is even worse Godric." Daylen added in an exasperated tone while the others laughed.

"S-Sorry, it just doesn't feel right calling you by your first name." the young mage replied sheepishly.

"Fine, stick with Master Amell I guess." Daylen said as he finally relented. "So what's the trouble?"

"While I was in town I noticed a request on the Chanters Board that I thought might require your attention. Apparently the apostate, Jowan, may have been sighted!" the young mage quickly explained.

The others exchanged serious glances while Daylen appeared to be considering the situation. "Alright Godric, I'll handle this. Chances are this another false sighting, but just in case I'll check it out." Daylen responded calmly.

The young mage bowed before leaving as the others faced Daylen. "Daylen, if it really is him..." Neria began.

"If it is him, he's only proving how stupid he is." Daylen replied casually.

The others appeared to be rather confused by his cavalier attitude. They were certain that Jowan's possible appearance would enrage him but he appeared mildly annoyed at best.

"So, would you all like to tag along to check this out?" Daylen asked cheerfully.

They all agreed and within hours they found themselves approaching a clearing near some woods located on the edge of the Brecilian Forest. There were several refugees present who were clearly trying to escape the darkspawn and one very familiar mage standing among them. There were also several dead darkspawn littering the area.

"Exactly what part of low-key did you not understand?" Daylen asked in an annoyed tone as he approached Jowan.

"Daylen? What are you doing here?" Jowan asked.

"Somebody must've recognized you and the Chantry got wind of your presence here. There was a request on the board in Redcliffe." Daylen explained, still annoyed.

"Sorry about that, but these refugees were in a really bad situation. This is the fifth group I've escorted this week and they weren't exactly easy to get to." Jowan explained apologetically.

"Daylen? What exactly is going on?" Elissa asked, clearly confused by their casual banter.

"Right, I guess I should explain. You all know how the arl left me to decide Jowan's fate. To be honest I really did consider killing him for everything that he was responsible for, but then something that Wynne said resonated with me. He never did anything out of malice, only foolishness and desperation. So I decided to offer him one last chance at redemption. I explained what I expected from him and made it clear that this was his last chance. He agreed to my terms and we arranged his 'escape.' After that, it was simply a matter of covering his tracks and leaking false leads." Daylen explained.

As Elissa, Aedan, Neria and Theron stood in complete astonishment at what they'd just been told, Daylen turned his attention back to Jowan.

"So have you managed to get all of the refugees to safety?" he asked.

"Yes, many have been trying to make their way to the Free Marches. A few others have been going to Amaranthine. Basically, everyone is making their way as far north as possible." Jowan replied.

"That doesn't surprise me, so how are things south?" Daylen asked.

"Bad, really bad Daylen. Lothering is gone and the darkspawn are laying siege to the West Hills as we speak. They're making their way north far faster than you anticipated. I hope you can pull one your miracles and soon, these people are really going to need one." Jowan replied grimly.

"We all will. Alright, make yourself scarce and I'll cover this up. Oh, and you should get acquainted with my friends. If for any reason you can't reach me then you'll be reporting to one of them. You already know Neria, though." Daylen replied before formally introducing Jowan to the others.

"So you're Neria's boyfriend? You must really be something to have gotten Daylen's approval. I can still remember all those poor bastards back in the tower who tried to get too friendly with her. What was the name of that one kid who had the stutter for a month after your little chat?" Jowan asked after shaking Theron's hand.

"Nothing worth noting." Daylen replied casually.

"And I'm guessing she's..." Jowan began as he greeted Elissa.

"A certified berserker? Yup." Daylen joked before being elbowed by Elissa.

"Well, I'd better get going. Where should I send my next report?" Jowan asked.

"Orzammar and don't worry about the method. Now that Theron's in on our arrangement, he can secure alternative lines of communication with some of his feathered friends." Daylen replied.

Jowan then nodded before heading back to the refugees and leading them away from the clearing. Afterwards, the others began bombarding Daylen with questions.

"So that guy is really working for us?" Aedan asked suspiciously.

"I know what you're thinking Aedan and yes he is. Loghain hung him out to dry which is exactly what I figured would happen. He was actually prepared to have me kill him when I went to see him in his cell. So I decided not to give him an easy way out and put him to work. He's been keeping me updated on the darkspawn movements and helping refugees who've been trying to escape. I'm not sure he can ever truly atone for what he's done, but this is at least a good start." Daylen explained.

"Daylen...I'm glad. I'm really glad." Neria added as she hugged him.

"Yeah well, he's a useful asset. Let's not make this into more than what it is." Daylen replied dismissively.

"The information he just provided was certainly valuable. I think he'll be a useful resource and helping put an end to the Blight is certainly a worthy means of atoning." Theron commented.

"Well let's keep this all between us. The others may not all be as forgiving or understanding." Daylen said cautiously.

"They'd understand Daylen. We all trust your judgment and you. When will you get that through that stubborn skull of yours." Elissa remarked before wrapping her arms around him and initiating a kiss.

"Maybe after you try convincing me some more." Daylen replied playfully after they parted.

"I'm standing right here!" Aedan shouted irritably.

"Yes, we can see you very clearly brother dear." Elissa replied nonchalantly.

After they all laughed, they began making their way back to Redcliffe. That evening, Daylen held a meeting in the Redcliffe Castle.

"Alright, today we got some troubling information. The darkspawn are making their way north a lot faster than we thought they would. We can't afford to linger here any longer. Tomorrow we'll start heading for the entrance to Orzammar in the Frostback Mountains. We need to secure the last treaty and I fully expect this to be a messy one. We're going in full force, so everyone be ready." Daylen announced before dismissing everyone.

As Daylen stood facing a fireplace, a familiar voice caught his attention. "You sure you want to play it like this?" Natia asked. She had remained behind to speak with Daylen alone.

"I'll assess the situation once we get there, but more than likely I'll be sticking to my original plan. Any complaints?" he asked as he faced her.

"Hell no! But you might be facing an uphill battle in more ways than one." Natia cautioned.

"Yeah, well I'm used to them at this point." Daylen replied while grinning.

The next morning, the wardens and their allies gathered at the front of the castle as Arle Eamon and his family bid them farewell.

"Good luck, I can't imagine what you'll be facing with the dwarves, but somehow I think you'll pull through." Bann Teagan said before shaking Daylen's hand.

"Failure is not an option Bann Teagan. But I appreciate the vote of confidence." Daylen replied as he returned the handshake.

"Daylen!" Connor shouted as he rushed forward to see his hero off. He stopped just short of crashing into Daylen's legs. "I meant what I said before! I'll become a powerful mage someday and join you in the Grey Wardens!"

Daylen placed his hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair once more. "I'm counting on it Connor." he said while smiling before leading the group towards the castle gates.

"Honestly, how many kids are going to end up pledging their lives to you. Between Connor, the children in the circle and Bevin, I doubt we'll be wanting for more recruits in the future." Aedan joked.

"Well, I expect Connor to follow through. The wardens will always need capable mages, me and Neria can't carry the slack forever." Daylen replied casually.

"Are you serious?" Elissa asked.

"Who knows?" Daylen responded mysteriously as he began staring into the distance.

The journey to Orzammar was going to be a long one, but the challenges that awaited them there would be what truly tested them.


	36. Chapter 36: Revelations in Orzammar

Chapter 36: Revelations in Orzammar

"Allow me entry at once! King Loghain demands the allegiance of your deshyrs and as his messenger I demand to be allowed in to speak with the assembly!" a rather angry warrior shouted as he faced the dwarven guards responsible for protecting the entrance to Orzammar.

"As I told you before human, no one gets inside right now." the agitated guard replied.

"So Loghain has anointed himself king now has he?" Daylen asked casually as he and his friends approached the scene.

"Oh look, another one of his mindless bootlickers!" Elissa added derisively.

"Y-You!" the Loghain messenger stammered.

"Pardon us, we have business here." Daylen replied as he strolled past Loghain's messenger and his entourage. "The Grey Wardens have a treaty with Orzammar that obliges you to aid us." he explained as he presented the treaty to the guard.

"This is indeed the royal seal, but I'm afraid Orzammar has no king to honor this treaty." the guard replied.

"What?! What do you mean?" Duran shouted.

"King Endrin returned to the stone not long ago, sick over the loss of his sons. The assembly is now deadlocked over who should take his place." the guard explained solemnly.

"Dammit!" Duran said as he dropped to his knees. Natia was quick to wrap her arms around him as he muttered curses about Bhelen under his breath.

"The only ones who can settle this treaty matter are the assembly, wardens you're welcome to enter though I doubt you'll find the help you seek." the guard said obligingly.

"Hold on a minute! The wardens are traitors responsible for the king's death! You can't allow them to pass and ignore me! I am Loghain's messenger and I demand that you execute these stains on Ferelden's honor!" the messenger yelled.

Daylen simply approached the man and stood face to face with him. "Do you really want to do this?" he asked coldly.

"I-I am Loghain's messenger! You don't frighten me!" he responded nervously. "My men and I will stand our ground for the glory of King Loghain!"

"And what men would those be?" Daylen asked sarcastically.

The messenger then turned around to find that his companions had already been slain by a pair of elves, one who wore a grin and was wielding a pair of daggers while the other had a scowl on his face and a long sword and dagger in each hand.

"You idiots never learn, do you?" Daylen added before blasting the hapless messenger with a crushing prison spell.

"You have my thanks wardens, that fool Imrek was barking here for a week. Are all humans so touched in the head? Anyway, as I said before you can pass but mind your actions. Orzammar isn't exactly stable at the moment." the guard said before allowing them to pass into the entrance hall of the great dwarven city.

As they made their way inside, they immediately took notice of the giant statues that lined the hall. "The paragons, living ancestors." Duran said as they all examined the immense tributes.

"Duran, listen, I'm sorry about your father." Daylen said quietly as his dwarven friend stared at one of the statues.

"We all are." Aedan added.

"It's alright. I had a feeling that this was coming when I was first imprisoned. Whether Father died of sorrow or something more insidious, it still goes back to Bhelen." Duran replied angrily.

They all fell silent once more and began making their way to the entrance to the Orzammar Commons. As they entered, they bore witness to a heated exchange between the infamous Bhelen Aeducan, Duran's manipulative and traitorous younger brother, and Lord Pyral Harrowmont. Before the scene could unfold any further, Duran suddenly bolted ahead of the group.

"BHELEN!" he roared as he stormed into the center of the commons. The look on his brother's face was definitely worth it in Daylen's opinion, he was literally seeing a ghost. As Duran came to a stop between Bhelen and Harrowmont's groups he quickly locked eyes with his younger brother and fixed him with a glare that could've killed a demon of fright. "Well...aren't you going to welcome me home, brother?" he said as his voice quivered with fury.

"Duran, w-what the h-Someone restrain him!" Bhelen demanded.

"For what? Greeting his backstabbing brethren?" Daylen quipped as he entered the scene, his staff ready in his right hand and a ball of arcane energy ready in his left. Elissa and Natia were right behind him with their weapons drawn and the others weren't far behind. The sight of over a dozen warriors, four of whom were mages, and an eager mabari were more than enough to give anyone who'd considered obeying Bhelen pause.

"Duran? What is the meaning of this? Why have you returned?" Lord Harrowmont asked.

"He's here as a Grey Warden, we all are in fact." Daylen replied.

"Wardens? I see now. Duran, I'm glad. We should speak later in private, for now I think we've all caused enough of a scene." Harrowmont said before leading his men away as Bhelen did the same, but not before staring back at Duran ominously.

"Well, that was one hell of a way to introduce ourselves." Daylen joked.

"I'm sorry Daylen, but the moment I saw him...it was no excuse though. We have a Blight to worry about and my personal issues shouldn't interfere." Duran said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it Duran. Your brother would've likely flipped anyway once he realized that you were actually alive and a warden." Daylen replied casually.

"So what do we do now? Should we go and see that Harrowmont guy?" Darrian asked.

"Not just yet. I want to gather some information and look around for a bit." Daylen replied as he surveyed the commons.

"Prince Duran!" a female voice suddenly shouted. As the party turned they noticed a dark haired young woman dressed in high class attire approaching them.

"Nerav?" Duran replied.

"Prince Duran, thank the stone! When I heard what Bhelen and the assembly did to you...and now you've returned to us." she said as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Nerav, I'm fine. I can't say it's been easy, but I'm alive and that's enough to spite Bhelen right now." Duran replied in a slightly angry tone.

"You gonna introduce us to your friend handsome?" Natia interjected as she eyed the woman suspiciously.

"Um, yeah. This is Nerav Helmi. She was-"

"I was a potential match for Prince Duran. King Endrin picked me himself." she said proudly.

"Well goody for you." Natia replied scathingly.

As the two women began to stare at each other coldly Duran decided to break up the tension. "Nerav, can you tell us what the hell is going on? Please tell me Bhelen isn't a candidate for the throne."

"I'm afraid he is and ancestors help us if he gets voted in. Lord Harrowmont has been his only opposition. After you were banished to the Deep Roads, Bhelen started seizing control over everything while poor King Endrin lied dying of a broken heart. I'm sure that he didn't actually believe that you killed Prince Trian, most people didn't including Lord Harrowmont. But everyone is either too afraid of Bhelen or on his payroll. Lord Harrowmont is the only one opposing him, I've heard that he promised your father that he'd do everything in his power to prevent Bhelen from taking the throne before he died." Nerav explained.

"Damn you Bhelen." Duran muttered angrily.

"Prince Duran, I'm glad to see you alive, it goes without saying that I never doubted your innocence either." Nerav added warmly.

"Nerav, I appreciate the sentiment but you don't have to address me with a title anymore. My name has been torn from the Aeducan family records and erased from the memories. I'm merely a phantom now, so I don't deserve your courtesy.

"Only because of Bhelen! And I don't care what the assembly says!" Nerav responded defiantly.

There was silence for a moment before the young woman spoke once more. "Why exactly have you returned? Revenge?"

"I'm a Grey Warden now and my friends and I have come to gain the support that we need to face a Blight. If I happen to get a bit of vengeance along the way though, I won't complain." Duran explained.

"A Blight! This is terrible news and now of all times! With things as they are now, you won't be able to make much progress. Your best chance for assistance would be Lord Harrowmont." Nerav replied.

"I agree. Nerav it was good to see you again and thank you for filling us in on what's been going on." Duran said graciously.

"Prince Duran, please be careful." Nerav replied in a concerned tone before departing for the Diamond Quarter.

"It looks like all signs are pointing to Lord Harrowmont." Aedan commented after Nerav left.

"True, but when have I ever traveled the beaten path?" Daylen joked.

"What do you mean? You aren't actually considering paying Bhelen a visit are you?" Elissa asked incredulously.

"Not even remotely." Daylen replied seriously. "But I do want to do some snooping. Leliana would you kindly come with me for awhile? I want the rest of you to wait for us at the local tavern."

The others exchanged a few confused glances before parting ways with Daylen and Leliana. Several hours later, Daylen reappeared with Leliana at Tapster's Tavern. Leliana was wearing a new set of armor, the Shadow of the Empire while Daylen was sporting a new ring, the Lifegiver.

"Please tell me you didn't just waste time doing a bunch of shopping?" Elissa asked angrily.

"See what I mean, no subtlety whatsoever." Daylen mused.

"It must run in the family." Leliana replied before giggling as she glanced at Aedan.

"We did in fact do a bit of shopping. You'd be surprised how loose lipped the local merchants can get when you're dropping a few sovereigns and a charmingly lovely bard is working her magic." Daylen said as he grinned at Leliana.

"You don't say?" Elissa replied in a slightly irritable tone.

"Oh yes, we were able to learn quite a bit about good Prince Bhelen and the illustrious Lord Harrowmont. We also paid a visit to the shaperate. I have to say the history of Orzammar is quite fascinating." Daylen replied casually.

"Daylen, what the hell does any of this have to do with the task at hand? In case you hadn't noticed my brother is plotting to seize control of Orzammar while we're trying to get help to fight the Blight!" Duran said angrily.

"It has everything to with the task at hand. Whoever ends up on the throne will be the one deciding whether or not they'll honor the treaty." Daylen replied seriously. "Bhelen is a scumbag through and through. His ultimate goal is the throne and he's willing to use any means at his disposal to get it. There are also all kinds of rumors about how he may have had a hand in your father's death. With everything that he's done, I wouldn't trust his word for a minute."

"So then we're back to Harrowmont right?" Neria asked.

"Not necessarily, Neria. By all accounts, Harrowmont is an honorable guy and I'm fairly certain that he'd honor the treaty. But he's also a traditionalist and an inflexible one at that. We're going to need as many soldiers as possible to throw at the Blight and I don't think the warriors at Orzammar's disposal are going to be enough. We're going to need the casteless in addition to the warrior caste and I don't see Harrowmont enacting such a policy. Basically, I have no intention of appealing to either Bhelen or Harrowmont and I'm certainly not going to support either of their claims for the throne." Daylen explained.

There was a stunned silence as the others mulled over what Daylen had just told them.

"Then what the hell are you proposing we do here Daylen?" Aedan finally asked.

"It's simple really. I intend to put my own candidate own the throne." Daylen said in a matter of fact tone before facing Duran. "One of my best friends actually." he added as he grinned.

There was once again a stunned silence. "Daylen...are you insane? I don't exist, remember? I'm a disgrace and my honor has been forfeit. There's also the fact that I'm no king, I mean what the sodding hell?" Duran replied in an exasperated tone.

"I've heard how you talk about Orzammar Duran. You love this place, but you also feel that it has to change if it's going to survive and I agree. You've said plenty of times in the past how the casteless should be given a chance and trade with surface expanded. So the question now is, do you have the balls to make this place better yourself? Or are you content to just sit on the sidelines while someone else drags it further into the dark ages and possible extinction?" Daylen asked seriously.

Duran could barely fathom all of the thoughts that were going through his head at the moment. As he sat contemplating everything Daylen was proposing the others began to voice their opinions.

"Are you sure we can even pull this off if he agrees?" Aedan asked.

"Convincing Harrowmont to lend his support would be the first step. His main motivation is preventing Bhelen from gaining control, but I'm not convinced that he hasn't been tempted by the throne himself." Daylen replied.

"What about those assembly bastards? Aren't they the reason Duran was exiled in the first place?" Darrian asked angrily.

"We'll have to work on 'persuading' some of them to see reason." Daylen replied.

"Daylen, how long have you been planning this?" Elissa asked.

"Probably as long as you suspect. Wardens are supposed to be neutral, but given the fact that a Blight is bearing down on us, I think we can get a pass here. Duran's the only guy I trust to handle things here, if he's willing that is." Daylen said before once again turning to Duran. "Of course, if you'd prefer it, we could simply help Harrowmont and be on our way once he's crowned. It's your choice Duran."

But Duran had already made up his mind. Daylen was insane, but it worked for him. He was right, they needed Orzammar and right now Orzammar needed him.

"Alright Daylen, let's go for it." Duran finally said.

There was applause among their friends after he responded. "So what finally convinced you?" Natia asked after kissing him.

"You did. I remember you saying something along the lines of 'So basically, you think Orzammar needs to change, but you don't want to be the one who does it? What a lovely line of thinking' back when we first met. You were right, I wanted things to change but I didn't want to be the one who worked for it. But things are different now and so am I." Duran replied resolutely.

"Well that's good to hear. It'd be a real shame if I was supporting a spineless nug-humper. Did I get that right Natia?" Daylen joked.

"Close enough!" she laughed before they all left the tavern and began making their way to the Diamond Quarter.

"I still don't know how you plan to pull this off." Aedan remarked as they made their way through the commons.

"I am certain that there is a method to his madness." Theron replied calmly.

"It's not as hopeless as you may think. I had a really enlightening conversation with a scholar in the shaperate named Gertek, who happens to be a really big fan of yours Duran." Daylen said as he glanced at the dwarven warrior. "He sends his regards by the way. He's convinced of your innocence and has been spreading word of all the inconsistencies in your trial and Bhelen's alleged corruption. I have a feeling that if he didn't have so many wealthy and well connected patrons, he'd be pretty much dead right now."

"So what did this Gertek have to say?" Neria asked.

"Well, Duran is pretty much a dead man walking as far as Orzammar is concerned, but there is one person who could overturn that and completely restore his name and honor." Daylen replied.

"Who?" the twins asked in unison.

"A Paragon." Daylen replied.

"Aren't they all dead?" Darrian asked.

"No, there is one living Paragon who was named such awhile back." Daylen replied as he struggled to remember the woman's name.

"Branka." Duran said while shaking his head.

"I've heard rumors about her. Sodding brilliant but completely unbalanced." Natia remarked.

"Who is she?" Neria asked.

"Branka was a brilliant smith, possibly the greatest the caste ever produced. She was also the only paragon named in the last four generations. She was named Paragon after she invented a smokeless coal that allowed the smith caste to increase their output by a third and decrease deaths from black-lung. But two years ago she took her entire house into the Deep Roads to look for some old relic or something and she hasn't been seen or heard from since." Duran explained.

"Great, just great. I really hope we can settle this without having to resort to searching the damn Deep Roads for a woman who's likely dead." Aedan remarked sardonically.

"Well, I'm certainly not looking forward to scouring a bunch of old thaigs for a mad woman who decided to go treasure hunting, but according to some of the information that Leliana and I gathered she had a huge escort and plenty of supplies. We heard they could've held out for quite awhile if they managed to avoid being killed by darkspawn." Daylen explained.

"It's not really worth mentioning anyway, we have no idea where she went or what she was after." Duran added.

"True, but I'd wager that Harrowmont and Bhelen do. I'll be sure to ask nicely once we get to Harrowmont's." Daylen joked.

As the group entered the Diamond Quarter they were immediately met by a young woman who was holding a baby.

"Um, can we help you miss?" Aedan asked.

"No, but your friend can. I think it's about time he met his son." she replied sternly as she stared at a very astonished Duran.

"Oh boy." Daylen said sympathetically as he watched a furious Natia dash off after leaving a handprint on the side of Duran's face.

As Natia bolted through the quarter she was suddenly aware of someone calling her name. At first she thought it was one of her friends, but then she recognized it as a voice she hadn't heard in almost a year.

"Rica?" she asked as she came to a stop.

Standing outside of the royal palace was her older sister, beaming at her.

"Natia! I thought that was you!" she said excitedly as she ran over and embraced her younger sister.

After separating, the two sisters began walking the quarter and catching up. "So you're actually a Grey Warden now? I should've known you'd find a way to get to them." Rica said as she surveyed her sister.

"And what about you? I'm guessing your 'friend' was the real deal then." she teased.

"He is, actually I should probably let you meet your nephew soon." she replied while smiling.

"Then, that means-"

"Mother and I now reside in the palace! Isn't that wonderful?" Rica said happily.

"Wait, the palace? Exactly who is this guy, Rica?" she asked apprehensively.

"Prince Bhelen Aeducan, the future king of Orzammar." she replied with a smile.

"Sod it all." Natia replied under her breath as she fell to her knees. The ancestors were cruel indeed.


	37. Chapter 37: Wardens Divided

Chapter 37: Wardens Divided

"Let's just get one thing straight, right here and now. I don't like you and I never will. I'm only here for Rica's sake." Natia said seriously as she faced Prince Bhelen.

"Good, no false platitudes, strictly business." Bhelen responded. "My dear brother and his friends have begun to complicate my plans and I understand you can help offset some of their actions."

"First of all, I want your assurance that once I put you on the throne you'll give me the soldiers I need." Natia replied.

"You have my word." Bhelen said as he stared at Natia.

Natia glared at him for a moment before continuing. "The first thing you should know is that Daylen is your biggest threat."

"He's the mage who rushed to Duran's defense, correct?" Bhelen asked as he began pacing behind his desk.

"Yeah, that's him. Don't even bother trying to face him in a straight up fight, he's definitely one of the most powerful mages in Ferelden, maybe even Thedas. And don't be fooled by that cavalier attitude of his, he's a master tactician and is probably already plotting how to bring you down, hard." Natia explained.

"It's a shame we couldn't come to some sort of agreement. I could have used someone like him." Bhelen lamented.

"Yeah, I'll bet. There's no way Daylen or any of the others would ever help you. We all know what you did to Duran." Natia replied bitterly.

"I did what was necessary to remove the obstacles to my reign. And YOU'RE here, so why don't you continue filling me in on your friends?" Bhelen responded in an amused tone.

Natia could feel her skin crawling, but she had to do what was necessary. "We've all stepped in it now, haven't we Daylen?" she thought to herself.

Inside Lord Harrowmont's estate a rather heated exchange was taking place between several of the young wardens and their friends.

"Just say it! You agree with Aedan don't you!" Elissa shouted as she faced Daylen.

"I haven't said anything and I'd like to stress the fact that I don't plan to either." Daylen replied calmly.

News of Duran's new bundle of joy had created quite a stir among the group. Apparently, a tryst he had months ago with a noble hunter had resulted in a son. Unfortunately, Duran's exile meant that the child was currently casteless, a rather infuriating outcome for the child's mother, Mardy. As if that weren't enough to contend with, Natia was still missing and the girls were equally pissed on her behalf.

"Just ignore her Daylen. Like I said before, you can't blame Duran for something that happened almost a year ago." Aedan said sternly.

"Dammit Aedan!" Daylen thought to himself.

"Boys will be boys, is that it? And what about Natia? With all of her issues with trusting people and then this happens! How can you stand there and defend him?" Elissa shot back angrily.

"He could at least try to find her and explain things. I can only imagine what Natia must be thinking." Neria added with slight tone of irritability.

"It's not Duran's fault that she ran off before he could explain things." Darrian replied defiantly.

The bickering continued for several minutes until Theron entered the room. "He's at Tapster's and I don't believe that he'll be leaving anytime soon."

When Daylen anticipated the turmoil that they'd be facing after entering Orzammar, this was not on his list of concerns. One bit of good news was the fact that Lord Harrowmont had agreed to lend Duran his support, but only if he could successfully restore his name and honor. A task that the wardens would have to attend to themselves. Meanwhile, they'd been doing what they could to strengthen Harrowmont's position and weaken Bhelen's, which included fighting in his name at the provings. Unfortunately, their hard work amounted to nothing more than a continued stalemate after someone managed to convince two of Harrowmont's most powerful supporters that he'd promised each the same portion of land. Worse yet, Daylen had a feeling that he knew who it was...

"Alright Theron, I'll go and get him." Daylen replied. "And a friendly word of warning, tread lightly around the girls." he added in a whisper before leaving as Theron nodded his agreement.

As Daylen made his way into the tavern, he immediately noticed his rather despondent friend sitting alone at a table in the corner.

"Well, at least you aren't wasted." Daylen joked as he approached.

"Daylen, what the hell am I going to do? A son, a struggle for the throne, Natia..." Duran trailed off.

Daylen took a seat and started to consider the situation. "It's one hell of a mess, I'll give you that. The way I see it, once we restore your status, that'll take care of things with your son. As for being a father, well I'm sorry, I can't give you any pointers there. But you're a good guy Duran, I don't have any reason to believe that you won't be a great dad. As for Natia, well once we find her I'll help explain things. Honestly, I don't think Natia would just walk away from what you have." Daylen explained.

"She might, if she had a good enough reason." a familiar voice cut in.

As they both turned around, they were greeted with the familiar form of Natia standing before them.

"Natia!" Duran exclaimed.

"Nice to see you. It would've been nice if you'd contacted us to let everyone know that you're alright. Elissa and Neria have been on a warpath sent you disappeared." Daylen responded casually.

"Natia, listen I-"

"I don't want to hear it dammit! Just tell me one thing, is that really your kid?" she asked angrily.

As Duran nodded she quickly turned to leave but Daylen grabbed her hand. "Will you at least hear him out?" Daylen asked seriously.

Natia took a minute to look at them both before taking a seat. "Fine, start talking."

Duran and Daylen spent the next few minutes explaining the situation with Mardy and Duran's son. Afterwards, Natia simply sat staring at them. "Well, I hope the tumble was worth it." she finally said before standing and turning to leave.

After they watched her leave, Duran returned to his drink. "That was pretty sodding dramatic, wasn't it?" a drunken voice growled.

Daylen and Duran then noticed a drunken, scruffy looking dwarf with shaggy red hair join them at their table. "Can we help you?" Daylen replied incredulously.

"I doubt it, not as long as you're running errands for Harrowmont. To be honest I'm surprised to see you back here your highness." the mysterious dwarf said in an antagonistic tone as he faced Duran.

"I'm in no mood Oghren." Duran replied angrily.

"You know this guy Duran?" Daylen asked.

"Oghren's a berserker who drinks as much as he kills. Gorim used to throw him out of the palace at least once a week. He's also Branka's husband." Duran explained.

"You don't say." Daylen replied curiously.

"How is Gorim anyway? You're still sodding breathing so I figure he must be too. Heard you both got a raw deal with the assembly and your brother." Oghren asked as he chugged his rather large mug of ale.

"Gorim's fine, he's a merchant now on the surface." Duran replied.

Oghren immediately started to laugh until tears started to form in his eyes. "Are you sodding serious?! Gorim a merchant? Hell, I'd pay to see that." Oghren said rather loudly before laughing once more.

"Dammit Oghren, what the hell do you want?! I've got a lot on my mind right now!" Duran replied angrily.

"Yeah I'll bet. Problems with that sweet piece that just stormed out of here. But you're not the only one with trouble involving with women." Oghren said before taking another drink. "I want to find Branka, Dammit! The assembly ain't doing squat and neither are your brother or his lordship. The first Paragon in four generations lost in the Deep Roads and no one sodding cares!" he added angrily.

"I thought she took her whole house with her? Why is he still here?" Daylen asked curiously.

"She took everyone EXCEPT for Oghren." Duran replied.

"I can't imagine why." Daylen commented sarcastically as he surveyed Oghren.

"Listen Oghren, in case you hadn't noticed I've been stripped of my name and honor. I don't have the authority or resources to help you." Duran said in an exhausted tone.

"No, but I've got a feeling you'll be heading to the Deep Roads soon. It's only a matter of time before those bastards wise up and when you do I intend to be there. Until then, here's to crazy women and the poor sods who put up with them." Oghren said before emptying his mug and making his way to the barkeep to order another.

"That was...interesting." Daylen remarked afterwards.

"Oghren's a real piece of work, I'll give him that." Duran replied wearily. "Listen Daylen, thanks for coming to get me, but right now I just want to be alone with my thoughts." he added quietly.

Daylen simply nodded and made his way outside the tavern where he quickly took notice of Natia propped against the wall of the building. "I imagine your work for Bhelen keeps you pretty busy these days." he commented casually.

"There's no hiding anything from you, is there?" she replied. "Why didn't you confront me about it in front of Duran?"

"Are you serious? He has enough to deal with and I'm damn sure not going to add to it unless I have to." Daylen replied seriously. "Just tell me why Natia. Are you that pissed off at Duran? I know women can be vindictive, but damn."

There was a moment of silence as Natia made her way towards Daylen and brushed by him. "I'm doing what I have to Daylen." she replied coldly before disappearing into the commons.

Daylen stood rooted to the spot for several minutes as he considered the situation. Had Natia really turned her back on their original plan? Was he actually going to have to fight her? As he placed his hands in his pockets and began making his way back to the Diamond Quarter, he noticed a rather small and inconspicuous note tucked in his pocket. He was certain it hadn't been there before and had a pretty good idea where it had come from. As he read it, a grin gradually spread across his face. After he finished reading it, he quickly burned it with a small ball of flames.

"It never gets any easier, does it?" he said to himself as he began making his way back to Harrowmont's estate.

Back at Harrowmont's estate, Daylen had called a meeting. "I want all of you to listen carefully because this won't be easy for you to hear." Daylen announced seriously.

The sudden change in his tone caught everyone's attention. "Natia is working for Bhelen." he said solemnly.

There was a stunned silence as the others considered what Daylen had just said.

"No." Elissa suddenly replied. "Natia would never do that, I don't care how angry she is with Duran." she added defiantly.

"Elissa is right! This can't be true!" Neria said in disbelief.

"Are you certain of this Daylen?" Theron asked calmly.

"I've had my suspicions since that promissory note business, but she confirmed things for me a little while ago. Duran has nothing to do with this though, apparently her sister is Bhelen's concubine and they have a son." Daylen explained.

There was once again a stunned silence as they all tried to process the latest revelation.

"How the hell do we play this one?" Aedan finally asked.

"The same as usual." Daylen replied casually. "I'm going to pay a visit to the royal palace and see if I can reason with her sister, maybe even convince her to leave. We damn sure don't need Bhelen having that kind of leverage."

"Are you crazy?! Suppose that's exactly what they want you to do!" Elissa said, clearly shocked by Daylen's latest bout of indifference in regards to danger.

"Oh, I'm sure it's trap. It'll certainly be an interesting one though. And it's not like I'll be going alone, Morrigan is coming with me." Daylen replied.

"Oh joy." Morrigan remarked dully.

"Wait, what?! Daylen what the hell-"

"That reminds me, Zevran I need you to handle some business for me as well. See me after the meeting." Daylen added before Elissa could argue further.

"Something tells me that this little scenario just got even more interesting." Zevran commented while grinning.

"Daylen, what exactly are you scheming here? There's a lot going on and I've got a feeling you're keeping us in the dark about a lot of it." Darrian asked suspiciously.

"You're all going to have to trust me here. I'm sorry, but that's all I can say right now." Daylen replied seriously.

"Daylen, I've always trusted your judgment but this all sounds really ominous." Neria said, the concern in her voice was clearly evident.

"Sorry, Neria. That's all for now." and with those final words, Daylen dismissed everyone and quickly gathered Morrigan and Zevran.

"I don't like this, he's definitely playing with fire this time." Aedan remarked as he observed the trio leave the room.

"When is the wizard not playing with fire? I mean literally and figuratively." Darrian replied.

"I don't care what he says, I'm getting to the bottom of this." Elissa announced angrily.

"What are you proposing?" Theron asked.

"We tail them." Elissa replied plainly.

"You do realize who we're dealing with, right?" Aedan asked.

"Yeah, I do. Which is why we'll use the best. Theron will follow Daylen and the witch, while I see what Zevran is up to." Elissa explained.

"You? Elissa, stealth is not your strong point and Zevran is a master of slipping into the shadows." Aedan replied.

"Yeah, but I know how the assassin thinks. He'll only slip into the shadows if thinks he's being followed and with my eyes I can track him from across the market." Elissa added.

"What about the rest of us?" Neria asked.

"You'll all have to wait here. It's risky enough with just two of us and we can't risk my idiot boyfriend catching on." Elissa replied. "We'll all be fine Neria." She added reassuringly.

After awhile Neria nodded her approval and Elissa set her plan into motion. An hour later Daylen and Morrigan were making their way to the royal palace.

"You do realize we have company?" Morrigan commented casually as they walked up the Diamond Quarter.

"Theron I suppose, I figured as much." Daylen chuckled.

"Does this not complicate your plans?" Morrigan asked curiously.

"Not really, actually the fact that it's Theron makes things even more perfect. My only concern is who they sent to tail Zevran." Daylen replied with a note of concern in his voice.

As they approached the palace they were immediately greeted by Vartag Gavorn, Prince Bhelen's second. "You've got a lot of nerve showing your faces here." he said while scowling.

"I have lots of things in fact. Nerve, sovereigns, ridiculously good looks, beautiful women at my beckon call, life is good." Daylen replied pleasantly after glancing at Morrigan. "Let's just skip the whole trying to intimidate me bit and show me to Natia, Rica or both." he added coolly.

Vartag simply continued to eye him menacingly before leading him into the palace. He eventually led them into a rather lavish guest room. "Someone will be here to see you soon." he said in a sinister tone before leaving and shutting the door, which he promptly locked.

"I certainly expected better." Morrigan mused as she made herself comfortable.

"You should probably give them a little more credit, check the walls." Daylen replied casually.

As Morrigan made her way over to the walls and examined them she quickly took notice of a very insidious feature of the room that now housed them.

"So they've lined the inside of the walls with dweomer runes. I must say, I'm impressed." Morrigan commented.

"Natia has probably briefed them on our strengths and weaknesses. I suppose they believe that they've removed the threat of magic from our inevitable confrontation." Daylen remarked while scanning the walls himself.

"Fools." Morrigan added while grinning.

Not long afterwards, the door to their would be prison began to open while Daylen and Morrigan readied themselves for a fight.

Meanwhile, Elissa found herself following Zevran who'd led her from the Diamond Quarter to the commons and was now approaching the entrance to the casteless section of Orzammar, the infamous Dust Town. As she continued to follow him into the dilapidated area he eventually came to an abrupt stop before shaking his head.

"I must say, I'm quite disappointed in the judgment of the others to have sent you to trail me. As lovely as you are my dear, stealth is most certainly not one of your strengths." Zevran lamented as he faced Elissa's direction.

"Dammit!" Elissa muttered before approaching the assassin. Trying to continue the farce now was pointless. "Fine, you caught me! So why don't you tell me what you're doing here?"

"I'm afraid that's not how it works lovely one. But you're more than welcome to accompany me." Zevran replied while smiling.

Elissa decided to accept the invitation, one way or another she was going to get to the bottom of things. As the pair approached the center of the shanty town, they quickly took notice of Natia speaking with another casteless. It didn't take long for her to notice them.

"Unbelievable. Zevran makes perfect sense, but you! What the hell was Daylen thinking?! Oh well, his loss." Natia replied derisively.

"Natia, what the hell is going on?! Are you really working for Bhelen?!" Elissa shouted desperately.

"And if I am?" she asked coldly.

"Natia...don't make me do this." Elissa replied threateningly as she struggled to contain her anger.

"Assuming you're still alive, we can discuss this further later." Natia said before disappearing into one of the houses that lined the street.

Moments later dozens of armed attackers began pouring in from every direction. There weren't just dwarves, but also what appeared to be qunari mercenaries and elven mages.

"The carta I presume?" Zevran quipped as he surveyed the scene. "My dear, I hope your rage is as potent as I've heard. This will likely be a bloodbath." he added grimly.

But Elissa was already tapping into her anger as she drew her swords. As her muscles began to twitch in anticipation she fanned the flames of her temper further by imagining exactly what she'd do to Natia once she caught her.


	38. Chapter 38: Wardens United

Chapter 38: Wardens United

As Duran finally made his way outside of Tapster's Tavern, his mind was still preoccupied with the countless concerns that were threatening to distract him from the goals that he and his friends were actively pursuing.

"Dammit, get it together!" he muttered to himself angrily. As he began making his way towards the Diamond Quarter, he quickly took notice of something that struck him as quite strange. Frandlin Ivo, one of the bastards that aided Bhelen in framing him for Trian's murder, was heading towards the entrance of Dust Town with a rather substantial entourage. It was no secret that Frandlin was now Bhelen's left hand and it was fairly obvious why. As they entered Dust Town Duran also noticed that his older brother, Wojech and his second Velanz were among his escort.

"This can't be good." Duran said to himself before deciding to follow them.

Meanwhile back at the royal palace Daylen and Morrigan found themselves facing down over a dozen warriors who had stormed the room where they were now being held captive. Their leader appeared to be a berserker by the name of Piotin Aeducan, who Daylen had the pleasure of defeating in a proving not long ago.

"It would seem that he does not handle losing well, does he?" Morrigan mused as she scanned the opposition.

"Why does it seem like everyone in Duran's family is an asshole? Is he literally the only decent one in the bunch? Oh well, time to prune the family tree." Daylen said casually.

"You're awfully cocky for a mage who can't cast any spells. Don't hesitate boys, he and the woman are completely helpless." Piotin announced triumphantly.

"So I'm guessing Natia told you all about the large scale chaos and carnage that we can cause and you've seen firsthand how easily I can bring down one stubborn bastard. But I'm guessing she didn't tell you about our 'other' talents." Daylen replied as a sinister grin graced his face.

"Don't listen to him! He's bluffing, they're powerless!" Piotin shouted as some of his men began to hesitate.

"Are we? The runes in these walls certainly prevent us from casting any external spells, but transforming is still well within our abilities." Morrigan said as a smile began to form on her face.

"What are you-"

But before Piotin could finish his thought, both Daylen and Morrigan began transforming into their most fearsome shapes yet. As Piotin stared at them in wide-eyed shock, several of his men began screaming in terror. Daylen had taken the form of a bear, but it wasn't his usual bear form. This bear was far larger and more intimidating. His body was covered in spikes that were protruding from his fur and several areas of his body appeared to be exposed muscle mass covered in blood. He had become a Blight tainted bear, a bereskarn. Morrigan's transformation was just as frightening. Her usual giant spider form was now that of an enormous red arachnid, a corrupted spider. They wasted no time in slaughtering Piotin and his men who hardly had any time to react. Daylen took the honor of ripping Piotin apart himself before returning to human form as Morrigan did the same. The mess they'd left behind was quite grisly.

"I'll have to work on controlling that one a little better." Daylen remarked as they surveyed the havoc they'd just wrought.

"They did ask for it." Morrigan replied casually as she joined his side.

"True, well let's get to work." Daylen added before leading the way outside the room.

As they made their way through the palace they eventually encountered a young woman with light red hair who appeared to be motioning to them.

"You're Rica I take it?" Daylen asked politely.

"And you're Daylen, Natia told me about you. We don't have much time, Bhelen and Vartag are out at the moment but they'll be returning soon." she replied hastily.

"He couldn't even be bothered to stay behind and observe how his little trap worked out? I'm insulted." Daylen joked.

"What exactly did you expect from a coward?" Morrigan mused.

"Bhelen always has someone else do his dirty work for him, there are still plenty of guards around though. But his room is empty and I'm sure it has what you're looking for." Rica replied as she led them through the palace.

As they approached the door to Bhelen's room, several guards immediately attacked. Daylen quickly killed them with a fireball before making his way to the door.

"Locked, figures." he commented calmly.

"What!? Then what are you-"

Before Rica could finish her sentence, several more guards appeared behind them.

"More company it seems." Morrigan remarked dully.

"I've been holding back for the sake of preventing too much damage to Duran's future palace, but these bastards are starting to annoy me." Daylen replied in a mildly annoyed tone.

Suddenly a flurry of arrows tore through the guards from the rear and Daylen instantly recognized the marksmanship. As the last guard fell dead, Theron appeared with his bow drawn.

"Nice of you to join us." Daylen said while smiling.

"I won't bother asking at the moment what this all about, but I expect to be fully briefed later and I'm sure the others will too." Theron replied seriously.

"Deal, now do me a favor and get this door open while the coast is clear." Daylen added as he surveyed the halls to make sure they were alone.

After Theron picked the lock Daylen and the others quickly made their way inside Bhelen's room where he quickly set to work searching the prince's belongings.

"Perfect!" Daylen announced triumphantly as he withdrew several documents from Bhelen's desk and several more from various hidden compartments in the other furnishings.

"Does this mean it is now time for us to leave? I was just starting to enjoy myself." Morrigan remarked in a blasé manner.

"Just one more thing." Daylen said while grinning as he withdrew a small letter from his robes and placed it inside Bhelen's desk. "Alright, we're good to go. Let's grab your kid and get the hell out of here." he added as he faced Rica.

Rica nodded her agreement and began leading them through the palace once more. They eventually reached a room where her infant son was resting in a small crib and his drunken grandmother was snoozing in a nearby chair.

"I'm still debating whether or not we should bother dragging her along." Rica commented with a slight tone of disgust in her voice as she gently lifted the baby into her arms.

They were suddenly alerted to the sounds of more guards approaching and before long the hallway outside of the room was full of them. Daylen quickly hurled a fireball outside, scattering their would be captors as Theron fired several well aimed critical shots that mowed down even more. Unfortunately, a pair of stealthily hidden attackers made their way inside the room. Morrigan quickly killed one with an affliction hex followed by a curse of mortality. The other nuisance had managed to close in on Rica but was quickly stabbed in the back by the now awake Brosca matriarch.

"If you idiots are going to try and pull something like this, then at least do it right!" she yelled angrily as the guard fell dead at her feet. "Your sister's man had better be worth this aggravation!" she added while eying Daylen and Theron before smirking.

"I'm amazed you were even coherent enough to even pay attention when Natia explained things." Rica replied while glaring at her mother.

"It wasn't that hard to follow. You're both screwing royalty and decided to back Natia's man. Now let's get the hell out of here, I'm eager for a drink." the old woman added dully.

"This is our mother, Kalah." Rica said as she noticed the perplexed look on Daylen and Theron's faces.

"Right...well let's get going shall we?" Daylen replied pleasantly before leading the way outside.

As the group made their way to the palace entrance, he could only hope that things were going as well on Zevran's end.

In the center of Dust Town, Elissa and Zevran were embroiled in the fight of their lives. However, Elissa was in full berserker mode and tearing everyone apart who got in her way. Meanwhile, Zevran was slipping into the shadows and launching surprise attacks against the several mages that had joined the fight. After backstabbing the last spell caster on the field, he felt far better about their chances, especially after witnessing Elissa sever the heads of three attackers at once. She had thinned the enemy forces considerably, a very fortunate outcome in Zevran's opinion, but he was also left with the rather complicated task of preventing her from murdering Natia once they caught up with her. For now though, he'd focus on keeping them both alive.

As he continued leaping from the shadows and launching backstabs and ripostes, Elissa unleashed a whirlwind of destruction that eviscerated many of the remaining enemies and scared several more into fleeing. Zevran was quick to take advantage of their cowardice and cut them down as they retreated. There were only a pair of qunari mercenaries remaining now and Elissa showed no hesitation in her attacks against them. She quickly unleashed a dual-weapon sweep that knocked them both off balance before following up with a flurry that killed one and a devastating final blow that utterly destroyed the other. Afterwards, they both surveyed the area which was now littered with dozens of dismembered corpses. As the pair struggled to catch their breaths, Zevran couldn't help but comment on Elissa's performance.

"My dear, I can only imagine what you're like in bed. Daylen is a VERY fortunate man indeed." he joked.

"Shut..." Elissa didn't have the strength to finish her retort however, and was still catching her breath.

As Zevran smiled several more dwarves entered the scene. But they weren't casteless or carta members and Zevran's first guess was that they were some of Bhelen's underlings. "Daylen is certainly talented at foresight, a shame his woman doesn't share that trait." he commented sardonically.

As the newcomers scanned the area their leader finally spoke after examining the scene. "So they couldn't even kill one of you? Pathetic, but at least they wore you out. That makes things easier for us." the man said as he stared at Elissa and Zevran.

"The same opportunistic bastard you always were, huh Frandlin?" a familiar voice remarked coldly from behind the enemy group.

"Duran! What are you doing here?" Elissa shouted.

"I could ask the same of you two. But you can explain later, right now I've got some unfinished business with my brother's flunkies." Duran replied as he glared at Frandlin and his crew ominously.

"The mighty Prince Duran. You should have had sense enough to die in the Deep Roads, alone and forgotten. You can't stop any of this, Grey Warden or not. Bhelen WILL take the throne and you'll die the same fool you always were." Frandlin said coolly as he faced Duran.

"Talk, talk, talk. Maybe if you fought as well as you bullshit, you wouldn't have lost to me." Duran replied mockingly.

"You-" Wojech began angrily.

"Don't get so worked up brother. Let him enjoy his little moment. I may have lost to you but look what I've gained and look at what's become of you. Thanks to me, my house's reputation will soar while you languish as some pitiful phantom who doesn't even have the decency to join the stone. To top it all off, your casteless whore sold you out and is now working for Bhelen as well." he said while smiling.

"What?!" Duran shouted angrily.

"Duran, it's true! Natia is working for Bhelen, she fled not long ago after we got here." Elissa explained.

Duran simply stood rooted to the spot as he considered what Elissa and Frandlin had just said.

"And there you have it men, the mighty Prince D-" but before Frandlin could finish his insult, Duran had already torn through three of his men and was now bolting towards him. Wojech's second, Velanz, was quick to intercept him and so were several more of Frandlin's men. As they attempted to overwhelm him, Duran suddenly released a war cry that knocked them all off their feet. He quickly took advantage and executed everyone around him, including Velanz before once again making a beeline for Frandlin. Wojech stood in his way this time and raised his shield to counter Duran's attack, Duran raised his own shield and the two collided with enough force to shatter steel. As Wojech struggled to match Duran's strength, his shield was quickly deflected to the side and Duran immediately took advantage of the opening by unleashing an overpower combo that left Wojech floored. Duran quickly buried his war ax into Wojech's throat before turning his attention to a now stunned and quite terrified Frandlin.

"Killed by a pitiful phantom, tell me, what does that make you?" Duran said bitterly before releasing a shield pummel on Frandlin who fell to his knees and was immediately beheaded by Duran.

Duran gave the men one final look of contempt before approaching Natia and Zevran. "Duran, I'm sorry-" Elissa began.

"There's no need for apologies just yet my dear. There is a great deal that you and the others have not been preview to. For now I suggest we follow Natia and quickly. But first..." Zevran said before quickly scanning the area. "Hmm, she should still be close by. Unless of course she fled, given the circumstances I certainly wouldn't blame her." he added before laughing.

Suddenly a casteless woman appeared from a nearby alley and approached the trio. "Sodding hell! Natia wasn't kidding when she said you could handle yourselves if there was trouble!" the woman exclaimed.

"Would you happen to be Nadezda? I believe you have something for us." Zevran said casually.

"Right. I was expecting an elf or two and for you to be more discreet. Well, here. Use it in the house at the center of the block. You shouldn't have any trouble considering how many of the bastards you just killed." the woman explained as she handed Zevran what appeared to be a finger bone.

"The plan was indeed for me to handle this alone or with someone more discreet as per our cunning leader's request. Unfortunately, his woman is quite fiery and meddlesome." Zevran joked as he took the cryptic item.

"Well, good luck. For what it's worth, I hope you pull this off. I've always liked Natia a helluva lot more than Jarvia." the woman said before slowly walking off and disappearing into the shadows of another alley.

"Well, let's be on our way." Zevran said cheerfully as he led a confused Duran and Elissa inside an empty house where a locked door awaited them. Zevran quickly inserted the finger bone item and the door unlocked instantly.

Afterwards, Zevran began sprinting into the corridor beyond that clearly led to an underground complex of some sort that was apparently empty. "Good, it appears there won't be any opposition thanks to your little outburst." Zevran chuckled as he glanced back at Elissa while still running.

"What is this all about Zevran?!" Elissa asked angrily.

"And what does Natia have to do with it?" Duran asked in an equally angry tone.

"As I said before, now is not the time. We must hurry if we're to aid our charmingly deceptive redhead." Zevran replied seriously.

Meanwhile, inside Beraht's former inner sanctum Natia was having a face to face meeting with his successor, Jarvia. She was accompanied by several underlings and none other than Leske.

"You've both really come up in the world haven't you?" Natia commented sarcastically. Jarvia's right hand man, that's really impressive." she added while facing Leske.

"You know how it is, you take what you can get and I got pretty far." Leske replied proudly.

"And why exactly has little Natia come back to pay us a visit? Has Bhelen finally realized that it doesn't matter who's king as long as I'm queen?" Jarvia said condescendingly.

"Bhelen wants you all dead and so do I, but for different reasons." Natia responded casually.

"I hate to break this to you, but I don't plan on going out like Beraht." Jarvia responded after laughing. Suddenly, even more of her henchman flooded the room and Natia quickly found herself surrounded.

"So Leske, your job was to lead me here huh? It's a shame it had to go down like this, you were actually a decent partner." Natia replied with a note of remorse in her voice.

"It's only a shame for the one who ends up dead." Leske responded coldly.

Natia quickly hurled a soulrot bomb into the center of the room before slipping into the shadows. She quickly set to work backstabbing the enemy rogues who'd flooded the room. Neither Jarvia nor Leske were eager to let her thin their ranks any further and both began closing in on her as enemy archers hampered her movements.

"Damn!" she muttered after narrowly avoiding an arrow aimed at her head. Afterwards she tossed a firebomb at several of the archers who quickly scattered. As Leske bolted towards her, she met him head-on with a hit below the belt before executing him with a riposte. "Like I said, a shame." she said under her breath as he fell over dead.

Her main focus now was Jarvia who was slipping into the shadows just as easily as she was. As the two women dueled, enemy archers continued harassing Natia which made it impossible for her to exploit any openings. Eventually, she found herself surrounded by Jarvia and several more rogues who were flanking her in all directions. As they prepared to advance on her, a loud and very familiar roar shook the room catching everyone's attention. Duran had suddenly bolted into the center of the room and promptly tore into the shocked enemy archers. Not far behind were Elissa and Zevran who quickly entered the fray instantly taking the pressure off of Natia.

With her backup preoccupied with the new additions to the battle, Jarvia found herself facing Natia alone. As she attempted to once more slip into the shadows, Natia quickly hit her with a cripple attack followed by a punisher combo that instantly put an end to the Carta leader. The others were quick to mop up the remaining scattered resistance in the room until the confrontation was finally over.

"Took you long enough." Natia commented in a cynical tone afterwards.

"I had two unexpected guests my dear. Fortunately the plan was still executed as you and Daylen instructed and I'm more than certain our handsome leader has liberated your sister and the other 'items' from the palace at this point." Zevran replied while grinning.

"Well, let's head back then." Natia said casually.

"Hold on a minute! No one is going anywhere until I get some answers dammit!" Elissa shouted. "Just what the hell was this all about?!"

"The same thing it was always about, putting Duran on the throne. Finding out that my sister was his concubine did almost throw a wrench in things, too bad for Bhelen the Brosca girls stick together no matter what." Natia replied. "As for this little mess, well this was about me taking over the Carta. This way we'll have influence in the dirt above ground and below. If you want more details, Daylen can explain once we get back.

Elissa looked as though she wanted to argue but she decided against it. "He had better have a damn good excuse for leaving us all in the dark." she said angrily.

"Well I can tell you the reason for that right now. It's because you're all terrible at deception. Bhelen had to believe that there was a schism in our group. Aside from Daylen, Leliana, the witch, Zevran, and me none of you are good at lying. And Leliana's too close to Aedan. That's why I tipped Daylen off alone and it was my call." she explained casually.

"So, I didn't get the benefit of the truth either?" Duran asked quietly.

"Don't even go there Duran, I'm still pissed off at you." Natia replied bitterly.

"Then be pissed off at me to my face. No more running away. If I'm going to take the throne and piss off half the assembly and castes of Orzammar, then I want you with me. I intend to scandalize every damn noble in this place by making a casteless my queen if she'll have me."

A stunned silence fell upon the room as Duran's declaration still hung in the air.

"You...sodding...do you know what you're saying? What you're asking?" Natia finally managed, still shocked by Duran's words.

"I know exactly what I'm ASKING and what it means I'll be facing." Duran said as he approached Natia. "And I don't care. This was decided a long time ago in the Deep Roads when I met a woman who would change my life." he added as he placed his hands on her face. "So the question is, will she have me?" he asked as he gazed into her eyes.

"I hate you so much..." she replied as the two of them kissed.

"Perhaps we should go back ahead of them." Zevran said quietly while grinning as Elissa quickly agreed. She took a moment to observe the couple while smiling before following Zevran to the exit.

Sometime later, Daylen found himself explaining their entire duplicitous scheme to their rather irate friends back at Lord Harrowmont's estate.

"Then why bother telling us she was working for Bhelen if you knew she wasn't?" Aedan asked angrily.

"Because I knew you'd have someone follow me and Zevran and I knew we'd both need backup, but Natia was adamant that none of you know everything. She made that pretty clear in her note and seeing as how she was taking all the risks, I had to oblige." Daylen explained calmly.

"And why did you bring Morrigan with you to the palace?" Neria asked.

"Natia had already filled Bhelen in on all of us, everything from our fighting styles to our tactics, but she left out a few key details. For me and Morrigan, it happened to be our shape shifting. They had to believe that they had the upper hand, so bringing Morrigan made the most sense and it added to the element of surprise." Daylen replied.

"This whole thing still pisses me off." Darrian added angrily.

"Well deal with it. From the very beginning Daylen and I planned to put Duran on the throne and take control of the Carta. Once I discovered that my sister was with Bhelen, I saw my way in and after I explained things to Rica it was just a matter of proving myself to Bhelen. After I told him about all of you and did him a few favors, he sent me to deal with Jarvia and the Carta. At that point I made contact with Daylen and filled him in on the situation. I knew he'd get Rica and her kid to safety and it was also the perfect time get to all of Bhelen's incriminating secrets." Natia explained in a matter of fact tone.

"Why were Frandlin and his men following you?" Duran asked as he held her.

"To make sure I got the job done, probably. Maybe even silence me." Natia replied.

"They didn't seem surprised to find us there." Elissa added.

"Probably because they weren't. After I tipped off Daylen I returned to Bhelen and mentioned how my 'former' friends were likely having me followed and how I planned to have them soften up the Carta." Natia said casually.

"You had us do your dirty work!" Elissa said incredulously.

"I figured you could handle it. I was actually expecting Zevran and maybe Theron to be the ones to show up. That way they could've slipped in quietly and dealt with everyone without a big commotion and we could've handled Frandlin when he showed up to check on me." Natia added.

"Unbelievable. And I thought Daylen's mind was devious." Aedan responded in utter disbelief.

"It was quite the show, I must admit." Zevran laughed.

"Um, there was mention of Bhelen's secrets. Given everything that's happened and how we were all thoroughly manipulated, I hope you at least got something good." Alistair added in mildly sarcastic tone.

"Oh, yes. I discovered quite a bit on good Prince Bhelen. I've already begun blackmailing all of the assembly members who are in his pocket and destroying his power base. It's been quite fun actually." Daylen replied coolly. "I also left a gift for him, a little something to remember me and Natia." he added while grinning.

"Daylen, I want you to know that I don't condone this behavior in the slightest." Wynne said sternly. "Having said that, well done." she added with a smile.

"To be honest, I'm glad I wasn't included in this scheme. It reminds too much of the Grand Game in Orlais." Leliana said in a relieved tone.

"I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience myself." Morrigan added casually.

"You would." Elissa replied derisively as she eyed Morrigan.

"Is your sister really okay with this?" Neria asked with a note of concern in her voice.

"Of course I am." Rica responded as she and her mother entered the room. "I was never blind to Bhelen's 'less than noble' attributes, but he was my ticket out of Dust Town and he was always good to me. If I did have any doubts, they were erased when he sent Ivo after Natia but I had already made up my mind when Natia told me about all of you and Duran." she added as she eyed the dwarven warrior who was currently holding her sister.

"Is that him? Well, he damn sure looks better than the other one. How is he in the sack?" Kalah asked rather brazenly as she took a sip of from her bottle of wine.

After the shock and laughter died down, Daylen was the first to comment on the audacious matriarch of the Brosca family.

"Natia, have I mentioned what a pleasure it's been for me and Theron to look after your charming mother?" he said sarcastically.

It had not been a good day for Bhelen Aeducan. He'd lost a lot of men, including his cousin Piotin and his left hand Ivo. On top of that was the fact that Rica had disappeared with their son and the Grey Warden mage had ransacked his room and gathered some rather important information, information he was now using to unravel everything he'd spent years building. Duran had killed Ivo and Wojech and his woman had played him for a fool. At this rate he could lose everything. As the agitated prince opened the drawer to his desk he noticed a letter that he was certain hadn't been there before. After opening it he was greeted by a crudely drawn caricature of Daylen and Natia making a rather obscene gesture at him. The prince was beyond livid and now determined to take the throne and see Duran and his warden friends suffer.

"You're getting married?!" Aedan exclaimed.

"That's the plan." Duran replied calmly.

"Well that's one way to smooth things over. I hope Natia isn't the jealous type, I mean you'll be taking care of her sister and Mardy. You're well on your way to a harem buddy." Daylen joked as Elissa elbowed him.

"Maybe in appearances, but I'll only have one queen." Duran replied resolutely as Natia grinned.

"I'm happy for you Natia." Rica added happily.

"Hopefully we can end the Blight before your wedding." Neria said brightly.

As they all continued their congratulations, Lord Harromont entered with a serious look on his face.

"Duran, something big is happening." Harrowmont announced.

"What?" Duran asked.

"I'm not sure how you managed it, but Bhelen's support in the assembly has all but collapsed. Unfortunately he's managed to delay the proceedings while he sends expeditions into the Deep Roads." Harrowmont replied seriously.

"He's after Branka." Daylen added wisely.

"I'm afraid so, the likelihood of her still being alive after this long is questionable at best but if she has survived and Bhelen finds her..."

"Everyone pack your bags, we're heading into the Deep Roads." Daylen announced as he rose to his feet. "Sorry Bhelen, but your ambitions end now." he added seriously.


	39. Chapter 39: Into the Abyss

Chapter 39: Into the Abyss

"Here Natia, I've got a feeling you'll be putting this to good use real soon." Daylen said as he presented her with the Rose's Thorn, an exceptionally rare and powerful dagger that he'd recently purchased from one of the merchants in the Orzammar Commons.

"An early wedding gift? Daylen, you shouldn't have." Natia joked as she accepted the weapon.

The young wardens were in the process of preparing for their trek into the Deep Roads to find Paragon Branka before Bhelen could reach her first and use her influence to make himself king. They had all agreed that this would be a journey made exclusively by the wardens of the group. After all, they were about to tread into the darkest depths of the Deep Roads and likely be facing hordes of darkspawn. Contracting the taint was a very real danger to anyone outside of their ranks and they were determined not to put their friends at risk. Lord Harrowmont had provided them with a map of the Deep Roads and some preliminary information about where Branka may have traveled. It was vague at best, but it was all they had to go on at the moment.

"Somehow I knew we'd end up doing this. We really have our work cut out for us." Aedan commented glumly before sighing.

"In more ways than one." Daylen added.

In addition to finding Branka, Daylen had also agreed to aid a few other people who had business in the Deep Roads. One was a despondent woman named Filda who was desperate to learn the fate of her missing son, Ruck. Another was a young woman by the name of Orta who was eager to discover possible family records that could prove her family's status as nobles. The latter would prove to be a useful ally for Duran if they could find the records.

Having sufficiently prepared for their inevitable journey, the young wardens began making their way towards the entrance to the Deep Roads.

"Wait up!" a voice growled as the group approached the exit from the commons.

As they all turned around to identify the source of the voice, both Daylen and Duran released groans. They immediately recognized the scruffy dwarf who was now bolting towards them as none other than Oghren.

"Not this guy again." Daylen said while shaking his head.

"How'd he even know we were heading out?" Duran added in an equally annoyed tone.

"Who is he?" Darrian asked curiously.

"A possible pain the ass. Oh and Branka's husband." Daylen replied.

"I knew you'd be heading after Branka at some point and like I said before, I'm going with you." Oghren announced as he caught up with the wardens.

"Oghren, we're heading into the dankest parts of the Deep Roads. There's going to be more than just a few darkspawn and you're not a warden, you could end up tainted." Duran said as he faced the berserker.

"You think this is my first dance with darkspawn? Don't insult me! I can handle myself, besides I'm the only one who knows what Branka was after. And I know how she thinks, if you want to stand any chance of beating Bhelen's boys to finding her then you'll need my help." Oghren explained.

"He does have a point. It would help if we had someone who could actually track her movements." Elissa added.

"See? Why don't you listen to your hot lady here with the swords." Oghren said as he eyed Elissa lecherously.

"Easy there drunky. The 'hot lady' is spoken for and you should know I've killed plenty of bastards for less." Daylen replied threateningly as he glared at Oghren.

"The mage has a pair doesn't he?" Oghren laughed. "So what do you say?"

"I guess we don't have much of a choice if we want to have any hope of finding her." Duran said after finally relenting.

"Good, now let's get going! And congratulations on patching things up with that sexy redhead of yours!" Oghren laughed as he led the way into the Deep Roads.

"Well, he's certainly-" Neria began.

"Crude." Elissa finished for her. "And he smells like a brewery, ugh!" she added with a look of disgust.

"I thought I'd seen every kind of awful back in Dust Town." Natia added as she shot a look of revulsion in Oghren's direction.

"Just say the word and I'll kill him." Daylen said plainly and the others couldn't decide whether or not he was actually joking.

"I share Daylen's sentiments." Theron added seriously as he stared menacingly in Oghren's direction after taking notice of the dwarf checking out Neria.

"I'll bet you're glad the bard isn't here right now." Darrian added as he faced Aedan.

"That would just me give me another reason to help Daylen and Theron murder him." Aedan replied angrily. "Elissa stick close to me or Daylen." he added before glaring ominously at Oghren.

"Maybe we should all calm down here and remember why we're heading out in the first place. You know, finding Branka, stopping Bhelen, making Duran king, any of this ringing a bell?" Alistair mused.

"Alistair is right. Oghren is...well we need him at the moment. Let's try to remember that." Duran added.

"Hey! You blighters coming or what?!" Oghren shouted from the entrance to the Deep Roads.

At that moment, they were all sharing the same thought. This was going to be a LONG trip.

The first stop on their pursuit of Branka was Caridin's Cross which according to Oghren would lead to Ortan Thaig, where the eccentric Paragon was apparently headed. As the group entered Caridin's Cross, they were immediately greeted by a rather large group of mercenaries.

"Well if isn't Harrowmont's-"

Daylen quickly killed their mouthy leader with a crushing prison spell before he could finish speaking while Elissa went into berserker mode and promptly tore apart his cohorts. After the battle the others continued on their way, clearly accustomed to skirmishes of this nature.

"Well I'll be sodding dipped! You're a berserker too?! Never thought I'd see a human who could channel their rage as well a dwarf, especially a gorgeous-" Oghren began.

"It helps when you have the proper motivation." Elissa cut in coldly.

"Duran, I may seriously murder this drunken buffoon before we find Branka." Daylen remarked while eyeing Oghren dangerously.

"Only if I don't first." Aedan added angrily.

"Save it for the darkspawn, I'm sure there will be plenty soon enough." Duran replied, clearly eager to divert their aggressions.

Fortunately, he was correct in his prediction. They encountered several large groups of darkspawn scattered all across Caridin's Cross in addition to deepstalkers. Unfortunately for the darkspawn, nine proven and now experienced Grey Wardens and a drunken berserker proved to be more than a match for them, even when they had the advantage in numbers. The fact that most of the group was being fueled by their annoyance with Oghren only added to the carnage that was left in their wake as they plowed through the darkspawn lines. Their progress was fairly fast and they managed to pick up several treasures along the way, including another dagger for Natia, the Thorn of the Dead Gods. Before long they had made their way to the exit and were quickly entering Ortan Thaig.

"So are you going to tell us what your wife was after now?" Daylen asked as the group made their way into Ortan Thaig.

"The Anvil of the Void." Oghren responded gruffly.

"And that is?" Daylen asked, mildly annoyed.

"A masterwork by Paragon Caridin. It was the secret to creating golems, but it was lost centuries ago. Branka aims to find and reclaim it." Oghren explained.

"Golems? Orzammar could definitely use a few now. The ones we have left now are pretty rare and only get used when times are really desperate." Duran added.

"I've read that Tevinter magisters used to buy them from the dwarves. Actually, I've heard that the Imperium still has a few protecting their capital, Minthrathous. They're suppose to be pretty massive." Daylen said in a matter of fact tone.

"What are they exactly?" Darrian asked.

"Huge statues made of stone or steel that act as soldiers. They're durable, resilient and obedient. You can just imagine why they're so prized." Duran replied.

"Branka figured she'd start her search here seeing as how it was Caridin's birthplace and he preferred staying here even after he was made a Paragon." Oghren explained.

"Let's hope we can pick up her trail soon, this place is eerie." Elissa added.

As they ventured further, they happened upon a fight between the resident giant spiders and several darkspawn, including an ogre. Neria quickly created a paralysis explosion immobilizing all of the combatants while Daylen summoned an Inferno that laid waste to both sides. As they continued their trek, even more spiders attacked but proved to be nothing more than a nuisance as they were quickly cut down by Darrian and Natia. After progressing further, Daylen discovered the records that Orta needed in a nearby chest. Afterwards, the group noticed a strange dwarf looting a corpse in front of the entrance of a cave in the distance. As they approached he yelled and fled as several more spiders showed up.

"Bad way to make a first impression buddy." Daylen mused as he killed a group of spiders with a flame blast.

"Blighter might know something!" Oghren yelled as he cleaved another spider in two with his battleaxe.

After killing all of the spiders they quickly made their way into the stranger's cave which held an abandoned campsite that the dwarf had clearly repurposed for himself. As they approached, the strange dwarf immediately got defensive.

"What do strangers want with Ruck? This is Ruck's spot, I have laid claim to it!" the dwarf shouted.

"Ruck? Great, just great." Daylen replied as he surveyed the dwarf. He was clearly tainted and likely losing his mind.

"They say the only way to survive down here is to eat darkspawn flesh." Oghren said grimly.

"Well that explains his taint. You, Ruck? Was anyone here when you 'claimed' this campsite?" Daylen asked.

"Ruck found nothing but shinies and words, but the crawlers took everything! They takes things of paper and metal! They takes the shinies and the words!" Ruck explained.

"He must mean Branka's research notes. This must have been where they set up camp." Oghren added.

"Alright, we're done here." Daylen said before turning to leave.

"But Daylen, what about Ruck? What are you going to tell his mother?" Neria asked in a concerned tone.

"That he's dead, obviously. It's far less cruel than this." Daylen replied bracingly.

"I agree, just look at him." Darrian added as he looked at Ruck with a mix of pity and disgust.

"I say kill him and put him out his misery." Oghren said gruffly.

"Which means that's exactly what we won't do." Aedan replied before leading the way out of the cave.

After exiting Ruck's cave and proceeding further into the thaig, the group encountered their first set surprises. One being the restless spirits of fallen dwarven warriors and the other being actual golems. The former proved to be no more a challenge than the typical fights they found themselves in, but the golems were proving to be quite troublesome. They were showing themselves to be as resilient as rumored and only incredibly powerful physical attacks and magic seemed to damage them. The crushing prison spell appeared to be particularly effective, but Daylen couldn't use it as frequently as the others would've liked. Fortunately, Neria was also proving to be an effective counter against the stone soldiers, her combat magic had advanced to such a degree that she now appeared to be a phantom while in battle, which made her a frustrating target for the golems and also a devastating weapon. Both Elissa and Oghren's rage fueled strikes also appeared capable of tearing down the golems and between the two of them, they'd managed to utterly destroy quite a few.

After fighting their way deeper into the thaig, they began to notice several spiders retreating ahead of them and disappearing up threads of webbing that led into the cavernous ceiling above them.

"That can't be good." Alistair remarked darkly.

"Maybe they've decided to prematurely surrender and flee while offering us free passage and a wish of good luck." Daylen joked.

As they approached a seemingly empty area across a bridge, they were quickly greeted by a pair of darkspawn emissaries, one on each side of the room and several corrupted spiders. Daylen quickly killed one of the enemy spell casters with a mana clash while Neria crippled the other with a neutralization glyph. Elissa then tore through the spiders that surrounded the fiend and finished it off with a flurry. Meanwhile, Duran and Oghren decimated the remaining spiders that surrounded the emissary that Daylen had killed. After dealing with the remaining creatures, the party pressed on to discover yet another campsite. Before they could examine it further however, they were beset by a horde of corrupted spiders that were being led by a corrupted queen of the arachnids.

The creatures seemed to pour in from every direction as the queen disappeared and reappeared from her thread of webbing, all the while launching surprise attacks while her brethren occupied the party's attention.

"That thing is starting to get on my nerves!" Daylen shouted as he killed several spiders with a shock spell. He then blasted the queen as she reappeared with a crushing prison spell that held her in place as he transformed into a bereskarn and proceeded to maul her and every other arachnid around her.

The fighting continued even after the queen was dead as more spiders made their way into the area. Theron was firing arrows nonstop to prevent enemy reinforcements from arriving while Neria summoned a death cloud to kill any further intruders. Meanwhile, the others were busy cutting down the rather large group of spiders that still remained. Eventually, Aedan and Duran both released war cries that promptly knocked every spider around them off their feet. Natia was quick to take advantage quickly executing every arachnid in her path while Darrian finished off the stragglers.

After finally mopping up what remained of the creatures, the group made their to the abandoned campsite and began investigating. It didn't take long for them to discover Branka's journal which indicated that she'd headed to the Dead Trenches and that there was something that she wanted to tell Oghren.

"Branka was thinking about me! I knew she still cared, the old softie. I guess it's off to the Dead Trenches." Oghren exclaimed happily.

"That name sounds pretty ominous. What exactly are these Dead Trenches?" Daylen asked.

"That's just what they're called now since the whole area was permanently lost to the darkspawn a long time ago. The official name is Bownammar or the City of the Dead." Duran explained.

"Caridin had the whole place built for the Legion of the Dead centuries ago, it's pretty much a graveyard now." Oghren added.

"Great, I can't imagine anything horrible waiting for us inside a dwarven cemetery that's now occupied by darkspawn. I'm sure this'll be a breeze." Daylen replied sarcastically.

"Who exactly are the Legion of Dead?" Aedan asked.

"The craziest bunch of blighters you'll ever meet." Oghren replied.

"They're an independent branch of the army that answers directly to the king or queen of Orzammar. They accept anybody into their ranks but as far they're concerned, they're already dead. They even hold funerals for the new recruits who join." Duran explained grimly.

"They don't sound that different from us." Elissa replied quietly.

"Well there are a few key differences, one being the fact that the Legion spends the rest of their lives fighting darkspawn in the Deep Roads." Duran added.

"We still have at least thirty years give or take before we take that little trip. Right?" Daylen asked quietly as he faced Alistair.

Alistair simply nodded his agreement before they all fell silent. He had filled them all in on the fact that they'd have shortened life spans now that they were wardens quite awhile ago. He had also explained how all wardens eventually traveled to the Deep Roads to fight darkspawn until their deaths once they began to succumb to the taint. This ritual was known as 'The Calling' and it was something that they'd all have to face at some point down the line.

"What the hell is wrong with you bastards?" Oghren asked, clearly baffled by their sudden silence and the grim atmosphere.

"Nothing at all my drunken friend, let's get moving. Bownammar awaits." Daylen replied dismissively before leading the way to the Dead Trenches.

Sometime later, the wardens found themselves facing a colossal fissure that ran across an enormous cavern. At the bottom of the gigantic opening in the earth stood thousands of darkspawn, armed and marching to war. At their helm flew the Archdemon, a monstrous dragon that spewed purple flames and quickly herded the fiendish army towards their inevitable confrontation with the surface.

"How are we supposed to kill something like that?" Aedan asked seriously as they watched the beast fly off into the distance.

"I must say, I share your concerns." Theron added as he too stared into the creature's direction.

"I don't know Aedan, but I'm damn sure going to pull it off somehow or die trying." Daylen replied resolutely.

"We all will." Duran added firmly.

Elissa nodded her agreement as she grabbed Daylen's hand and held it as they all continued staring into the darkspawn filled abyss. Despite everything that the young wardens had faced up until that point, it was at that moment when the true gravity of the situation hit them. Slaying that monstrosity would fall to them, putting an end to the Blight and preventing it from spreading to the rest of the world was now the responsibility of the nine youths who now stood before an ocean of darkspawn.

"So, no pressure." Daylen muttered sarcastically to himself as he continued to stare into the abyss.


	40. Chapter 40: Beyond Sin

Chapter 40: Beyond Sin

"You wardens are crazy! But my men and I owe you." the Legionnaire who'd introduced himself as Kardol said after joining the wardens across the bridge they'd just cleared of darkspawn. The party had encountered him and several other Legion of the Dead soldiers while they were attempting to cut through darkspawn forces. The young wardens had been more than happy to lend a hand.

"Crazy tends to work for us, you know?" Daylen joked.

"Kardol, I don't suppose you've heard anything about Branka since you've been down here?" Duran asked.

"The missing Paragon? She's as good as dead if you ask me. But if you're searching for her, I'm not going to stop you. My men and I have other things worry about, mainly these massive darkspawn movements." Kardol explained.

"They are making their move to the surface. We're facing a Blight right now, you and your men could help us a great deal in facing it." Theron added.

"Why? Surfacers only care about the darkspawn when they're knocking on your door, your nightmare is our everyday. If they're making their move on the surface, it just means we get a breather. If you wardens manage to slay the Archdemon though, we'll make sure the spawn don't have an escape route." Kardol replied gruffly.

"I'm curious, how long has it been since you got new orders?" Duran asked.

"Ha! Are you serious? Ever since the mess back in Orzammar with the king dying and deshyrs fighting over who gets the throne, we've been on our own. Not that I'm complaining mind you, but at a certain point someone's gotta take charge. We can't keep winging it forever." Kardol explained.

"You won't have to if we're successful. You'll be getting your orders from Duran here soon enough if we have anything to say about it." Daylen added confidently.

"Prince Duran? I've heard about your skill as a warrior and that business with your exile. A shame the wardens got you, the Legion can always use capable men like yourself. If you end up as king, I certainly won't be complaining." Kardol replied before bidding the party farewell as he and his men ventured off.

"Those guys are fearless, I'll give them that." Aedan remarked, clearly impressed by the Legionnaires' boldness.

"And they deserve a proper king who won't squander their sacrifices." Duran replied seriously.

"Add that to the list of reasons why you should be sitting on the throne." Natia added as she embraced Duran.

"We could definitely use those guys in the fight against the Blight." Daylen commented before leading the way further into the Dead Trenches.

As expected, the area was thick with darkspawn who didn't hesitate to attack as the group made their way deeper into Bownammar. As they slaughtered the creatures, they also searched several sarcophagi that yielded several pieces of the Legion of Dead armor. As they continued deeper into the City of the Dead, they encountered a disturbing new type of darkspawn. Several groups of shrieks ambushed the party on a bridge that led further into Bownammar. The creatures seemingly appeared out of nowhere, having blended into the shadows perfectly before releasing blood curdling screams that not only caught the party off guard, but also stunned them. As they attempted to take advantage of their surprise attack, Daylen quickly recovered and released a mind blast that stunned the opportunistic fiends.

"Not so fun, is it?" he remarked angrily before transforming into a swarm of insects that proceeded to wreak havok on the shrieks.

"Duncan mentioned shrieks once before, they're not as common as genlocks and hurlocks but they're just as deadly." Alistair commented after the battle.

"Considering how deep we are in their territory, I expect we'll encounter many more of their exotic brethren." Theron replied calmly.

"I'm starting to notice a pattern here." Daylen added cryptically.

"What do you mean?" Elissa asked.

"He's likely referring to the different darkspawn breeds and how they relate to us." Theron replied. "Genlocks are tainted dwarves, hurlocks are the human counterparts, ogres are likely qunari and shrieks are the twisted forms of elves." he added grimly.

"Exactly." Daylen replied seriously.

"How is that possible? I mean, the darkspawn mostly kill whoever they come across. There are rumors that they take prisoners, but even if it's true and they end up spreading the taint to those poor bastards, there's no way that could account for this many of them." Darrian remarked.

"Well, no one really knows where darkspawn come from. There's the Chantry's story of how they came to be, but even if it was true, it doesn't explain how they replenish their numbers." Aedan added.

"It's true. During the last Blight, everyone believed that the darkspawn were finished after so many were killed in the war." Alistair said while pondering the topic himself.

"Duncan said it best, 'There are always more of them' and I've got a feeling we're about to meet some more new ones." Daylen added darkly before leading the way further.

After entering a set of caverns, they noticed a voice echoing in the tunnels. After listening further, they noticed that the voice was reciting a poem.

_First day, they come and catch everyone._  
_Second day, they beat us and eat some for meat._  
_Third day, the men are all gnawed on again._  
_Fourth day, we wait and fear for our fate._  
_Fifth day, they return and it's another girl's turn._  
_Sixth day, her screams we hear in our dreams._  
_Seventh day, she grew as in her mouth they spew._  
_Eighth day, we hated as she is violated._  
_Ninth day, she grins and devours her kin._  
_Now she does feast, as she's become the beast._  
_Now you lay and wait, for their screams will haunt you in your dreams._

"Well that's not creepy at all." Daylen commented sarcastically after the group killed yet another group of darkspawn and several corrupted spiders. As they ventured deeper into the tunnels, the voice continued to repeat the poem and after Daylen killed a pair of darkspawn emissaries with a mana clash, he was eager to find the source.

The party finally found their way out of the tunnels and back into the familiar architecture of Bownammar. As they proceeded further into the building they discovered a lone female dwarf who was clearly tainted and also the source of the eerie voice that they'd been hearing.

"Who's there? Humans? Elves? That can't be, only caste and clan come for feeding. Perhaps you are dreams come to torment me further." she said in a hushed tone.

"What's happened to her?" Neria whispered.

"If I had to guess, I'd say she's a survivor of Branka's expedition and that things didn't go well." Daylen replied seriously.

"You're part of Branka's house right? What happened? Where's Branka?" Duran asked quietly.

"I am...I was Hespith...Branka...she became obsessed, that is the word but it is not strong enough. Blessed Stone, there was nothing left in her but the Anvil. I was her captain, and I did not stop her. Her lover, Laryn, and I could not turn her. Forgive her... but no, she cannot be forgiven. Not for what she did. Not for what she has become." the woman called Hespith replied before running off and disappearing.

"I'm not liking what I'm hearing here." Daylen replied seriously as he began to contemplate what Hespith had said along with her poem. He hadn't been the only one, both Theron and Natia were now wearing expressions that were just as severe as his.

"You mean about Branka having a lover on the side who was a woman? I figured that's more something Oghren should be concerned with." Aedan joked, clearly oblivious to the significance of the situation as a whole.

"If I had known about her 'habits,' I could have made some 'adjustments.'" Oghren responded gruffly.

Daylen exchanged a grim look with Duran, who at that point had also begun connecting things. As the party ventured further, they found themselves once again in an open area and quickly attacked by a pair of ogres whom Neria promptly destroyed with a combination of combat magic, haste and paralysis glyphs.

Not far from where the ogres attacked, they noticed a massive cavern that house dozens of darkspawn, including what appeared to be a blacksmith.

"You can't be serious?" Aedan said incredulously.

"Well, who did you think forged their weapons and armor? I'll give it to them, these bastards are definitely ready for war." Daylen replied before summoning an inferno that engulfed the entire cavern while Neria unleashed a death cloud that did the same. After looting the decimated remains of the darkspawn, including the forgemaster, they all headed towards a rather massive door that appeared to be locked.

"This is probably one of those doors where we actually need the key." Daylen joked before leading the way into a nearby room whose door was thankfully unlocked.

The room was full of the spirits of who they could only assume to be fallen members of the Legion of the Dead. The room itself appeared to be a tomb like the rest of Bownammar, but far grander. At the very back of the room, they discovered the final piece of the Legion of the Dead Armor set, the helmet along with a key for the previous door. It only made sense for Duran to be the one to equip it all and not long after he did the spirits promptly attacked. The group made short work of them before making their way to the previously locked door and using the key.

As they made their way into the chamber that laid beyond, they were quickly beset by a small army of skeletons who were being commanded by another darkspawn emissary who was quick to flee while his minions did his dirty work.

"It ran!" Elissa shouted in disbelief as she engaged several of the skeletons that were now closing in on the party.

"That just means it actually has a brain and possibly a modicum of intelligence." Daylen replied casually before transforming into a corrupted spider and pursuing the enemy spell caster. After quickly catching up with the emissary, he proceeded to overwhelm the creature and tear it to pieces while the others did the same to its skeleton minions.

After the battle, they made their way into a tunnel that appeared to lead deeper still into the bowels of the City of the Dead. As they proceeded through the tunnel, they couldn't shake the ominous feeling that permeated the air and Hespith's renewed whispers in the dark didn't help matters. She began to recount the horrors that befell the expedition including some rather disturbing details of the incredibly heinous events that the women suffered. Her recollections chilled everyone to the bone and the monstrosity they happened upon as they entered a cavern only compounded their disgust.

"Broodmother!" Hespith shouted from the darkness as the others took in the sight of the gargantuan creature that now stood before them. It appeared to be female, but only in the loosest of terms. It was huge, bald, grotesque beyond words and sprouting several tendrils.

"Some things are better left a mystery." Daylen said darkly as he and the others prepared to slay the monstrosity that nested before them. The creature immediately summoned a small horde of darkspawn to protect it as it lashed out with its tendrils.

"Steer clear of that 'thing' and its tendrils, Neria and I will deal with it! The rest of you handle these darkspawn!" Daylen shouted before hurling a fireball at the broodmother.

The others were quick to react as he and Neria began focusing their attacks on the broodmother. Daylen blasted the creature with a shock spell as Neria released a stonefist spell. Their only advantage was the fact that the creature for all its girth appeared to be immobile, but its tendrils were clearly lethal and it was also prone to vomiting some sort of vile toxin that Daylen had barely managed to avoid during several instances. It was also capable of summoning a seemingly unending wave of darkspawn, most of whom had no doubt been birthed by the monstrosity. As Daylen continued to whittle away at the creature with spells and Neria hacked away at it while in her combat magic mode that was reinforced with haste, it was quickly becoming evident that the beast wouldn't be going down anytime soon.

As Daylen and Neria considered their options, a massive hand suddenly grabbed Daylen as all four of the creature's tentacles slammed into Neria who was tossed clear across the battlefield. The creature was now attempting to crush Daylen who'd instinctively cast rock armor in order to minimize the damage.

"DAYLEN!" Elissa screamed.

"Dammit! Aedan clear a path for me!" Duran shouted as he prepared to make a beeline for the broodmother.

Aedan quickly released a war cry that knocked down the horde of darkspawn that they were currently facing. Afterwards, Duran plowed through the stragglers and dove onto the gargantuan monstrosity. He used his war ax to climb the creature before releasing an overpower attack on the fiend's face, forcing it to drop Daylen who was quickly caught by a furious Elissa who'd carved a bloody path of chaos to the base of the beast. Duran was promptly tossed from the broodmother, but managed to land fairly safely near Daylen and Elissa.

"Thanks Duran, I owe you one." Daylen replied in between coughs.

"Not really, consider that a payment towards all the ones I owe you." Duran replied while grinning as he struggled to catch his breath.

"You idiot! Don't do that to me!" Elissa shouted angrily.

"You can yell at me all you want later." Daylen replied as he caressed her cheek. "This thing isn't even close to going down." he added seriously as he glanced at the broodmother who promptly launched an attack with its tendrils forcing them to scatter in order to avoid the onslaught.

After dodging the attack, Daylen quickly surveyed the battlefield. Theron had managed to fight his way over to Neria who was now standing. Alistair, Aedan, Darrian and Oghren were busy fighting another wave of darkspawn. Natia had managed to stealthily cut a path to Duran and Elissa who were also fighting darkspawn.

"Neria! Duran! Both of you with me!" Daylen shouted across the battlefield. "Everyone put some distance between yourself and the broodmother!" he added.

Afterwards he fought his way to the edge of the battlefield where Duran and Neria joined him. "Daylen, we're barely scratching it!" Neria said desperately.

"The problem is the damned thing is huge and it can take a beating." Duran added angrily.

"We're going to have to go all out, there's no choice." Daylen replied seriously.

"Daylen, you can't use storm of the century in here! We'd all get caught in it!" Neria shouted.

"I wasn't planning to, just listen..." Daylen remarked calmly before explaining his plan.

Moments later, Daylen had activated spell might and Neria had summoned a spell wisp. Neria quickly hit the broodmother with a vulnerability hex followed by an affliction hex. Daylen then summoned an inferno that quickly engulfed the broodmother and immediately conjured a tempest to add to the destruction. Neria then summoned a death cloud that further added to the carnage being wrought. She followed up with a death hex, creating the entropic death spell combination that wounded the creature even further. The barrage of high level spells continued to tear away at the monstrosity as Daylen blasted it with a crushing prison that maimed the creature even more. As the spells subsided, the broodmother appeared to be critically wounded as its tendrils fell to the ground, limp. Duran took the opportunity to rush the creature once more and after climbing the beast yet again, he cleaved its skull in two with his war ax. The broodmother released one final scream of pain that echoed through the cavern before finally dying.

Daylen and Neria both fell to their knees in exhaustion afterwards as did the others after finishing off what remained of the darkspawn. Hespith then appeared once more at the top of a ledge above the now dead broodmother.

"Laryn..." she said solemnly as she looked down at the slain broodmother. "Branka...my love...The Stone has punished me, dream friends. I am dying of something worse than death. Betrayal." she added sadly before leaping from the ledge to her death.

Silence fell upon the cavern as the young wardens tried to come to terms with everything that had just occurred and everything they'd just learned.

"So that's where they come from. That's why they take prisoners and the women they..." Neria couldn't finish as tears began forming in her eyes.

"There are no words that can describe the depth of this evil." Theron added quietly as he held Neria.

"We killed it...that's the important thing. And we'll kill any others we find, and..." Elissa began before Daylen wrapped his arms around her as she began shaking.

"Stop trying to be tough." he said quietly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Why would Branka condemn her own people to THIS? I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy." Darrian said, still shocked by the revelations.

"Now hold on! There's gotta be an explanation!" Oghren replied defensively.

"Are you kidding me! Have you not been here or were you too damn drunk to comprehend everything that just happened! Your deranged wife has a lot to answer for! Look at that thing!" Aedan shouted angrily as he pointed at the dead broodmother. "That used to be a person, a woman who faithfully followed your psychotic wife and look what it got her! The darkspawn are evil incarnate, we've always known that. But this, this is..." Aedan couldn't finish as he shook his head in anger.

"Paragon or not, that bitch won't get away with this." Natia added coldly. She was no stranger to how wicked people could be, but this disturbed even her. At the moment she was glad that Duran was there to hold her, if he wasn't she'd likely be in worse shape than the others.

"I can't imagine how she'll try to justify this, but no one, not even a Paragon can excuse something like this." Duran said resolutely.

"She could've been tainted herself, you never know." Alistair added quietly.

"Branka...there has to be a reason." Oghren said quietly to himself after awhile.

"Keep telling yourself that." Aedan replied angrily.

"We'll find out soon enough." Daylen added calmly. "Let's go." he added as he held Elissa's hand and led the way towards the Anvil of the Void and a Paragon named Branka, who based on all of the evidence, had condemned her entire house to a fate that was infinitely worse than death.


	41. Chapter 41: The Face of Madness

Chapter 41: The Face of Madness

As the young wardens entered the immense area that presumably held Paragon Caridin's greatest masterwork, the Anvil of the Void, they were immediately trapped as a colossal wall rose up behind them, sealing them in the expanse. Shortly afterwards, they were 'greeted' by none other than the infamous Paragon Branka herself as she looked down at the party from an elevated and carefully fortified position that sat on a moderately sized cliff.

"Let me be blunt with you. After all this time, my tolerance for social graces is fairly limited. That doesn't bother you I hope." she said calmly as she surveyed the group.

"I really hate your wife Oghren." Daylen said plainly as he glared at the woman who'd just trapped them all.

"I'm way beyond hating her, myself." Aedan added angrily as he too stared at the presumably deranged Paragon.

"Let me guess, you're more hirelings from Orzammar sent to find me. And the first ones apparently, who could put up with Oghren's ale breath." Branka remarked casually.

"Hold your tongue woman!" Oghren shouted. "They're Grey Wardens and one of them may be the next king!" he added.

Branka took a moment to examine the group once more. "I see now, one of Endrin's brats. He's dead then, I take it? And now you and your brothers are fighting over the throne and you decided to track me down to decide things in your favor. Typical."

"That was indeed my plan, as well as Bhelen's. I had hoped to find you so that my name and honor could be restored, but what good would any of it be if it came from someone like you? I know what you did to your house, we all do. You're a disgrace to the title of Paragon and at the moment I find just speaking to you to be an exercise in restraint." Duran said seriously.

"Enough! I don't care who takes the throne. What does it matter when our greatest treasure, the Anvil of the Void, lies lost and forgotten. Take a good look around, Is this what our empire should look like? A crumbling tunnel, filled with darkspawn spume? The Anvil will let us take back our glory!" Branka exclaimed with a mad glint in her eyes.

"She's absolutely insane." Elissa remarked, completely awed by the woman's complete disregard for own people.

"There is now only one path out of here Grey Wardens and it leads forward. Through Caridin's traps and to the Anvil beyond. I wish you luck." Branka said casually as she pointed the way forward.

"What has this place done to you?! I remember marrying a girl you could talk to for one minute and see her brilliance." Oghren shouted desperately.

"I am your Paragon." Branka replied coldly before disappearing into her fortifications.

"Yeah, it's official. I REALLY hate your wife." Daylen remarked angrily as he and the others began making their way towards the only exit available to them.

As they made their way forwards, several darkspawn rushed them while Branka subjected them to her mad ramblings that attempted to justify her actions. The insights into her mind were more than a little disturbing as she revealed how she sacrificed her followers against Caridin's traps and willingly surrendered the women to the darkspawn and the hell that she knew they'd be subjected to. She knew that they'd become broodmothers, in fact she'd been counting on it. According to her, they could supply an endless number of darkspawn to be used against Caridin's traps. After fighting their way through all of the darkspawn to the tunnel that led to the first room in Caridin's gauntlet of traps, the party was beyond appalled.

"She's awful, absolutely awful." Neria said in complete disbelief.

"You know what's worse? The fact that we'll likely have to cut a deal with her." Daylen replied grimly.

"You can't be serious! That woman is far worse than any of the monsters we've faced up until now." Elissa remarked angrily.

"She's also the only living Paragon and the only one who can restore Duran's name. I don't like this any more than you do, but we still have a job to do." Daylen said firmly.

"Dammit! Just keep her away from me!" Aedan added angrily.

"And me." Theron added as his serene eyes flashed with fury.

"Everyone calm down." Natia cut in calmly. "Daylen is right, we need the deranged bitch for Duran's sake. But that doesn't mean we'll need her afterwards." she added in an ominous tone.

"Hey!" Oghren shouted.

"Are you really still going to try and defend her now, she's even admitted her crimes and she even sounds proud of what she's done. I'm guessing you're not just a drunk, but a fool too." Darrian said derisively.

"You really want to test me pointy ears?" Oghren responded angrily as he faced Darrian who was already reaching for his sword and dagger.

"Enough!" Duran shouted. "We don't have time for this right now! Regardless of how we intend to handle the Branka situation later, right now we're stuck until we can make it past Caridin's traps. So let's focus on that right now, shall we?"

Darrian and Oghren continued to glare at each other before finally separating. "Now let's get moving, I'm eager to be rid of this place already." Duran added as he and Daylen led the way to the first room in the gauntlet.

As the party entered the room, the door quickly shut behind them as the room filled with a poisonous gas and several golems attacked. Daylen blasted one with a crushing prison before quickly making his way to a set of valves on the right side of the room while Natia pursued the set on the left. After shutting off the gas, they all focused their attacks on the remaining golem who went down quite fast under the assault.

The next room they made it to held several lethal traps of the spinning blade variety. Natia was quick to disarm them, unfortunately several golems immediately attacked as she did so. Daylen once again destroyed one with a crushing prison before knocking another over with a stonefist spell. Oghren took advantage of the downed golem and shattered it with his battleaxe while Neria and Elissa brought down the others.

Afterwards, the party made their way further and eventually entered a chamber that housed a massive and intricately designed contraption that was covered in faces. Before long, the giant device began to spin as the door behind the group shut and several spirits began appearing beneath the face covered machine. They each appeared in front of an anvil that rested at a different point beneath the large apparatus.

"Seems simple enough." Daylen remarked as he surveyed the battlefield.

"That machine won't make things easy though." Neria added.

"Neither will the spirits." Theron said calmly.

"They won't be a problem if we deal with them fast enough." Natia commented.

"So, are any of you going to explain things to us simpletons?" Alistair asked wryly.

They quickly explained what needed to be done to the others before quickly dispersing into the conflict. As they defeated the spirits, the anvils that lined the perimeter of the battlefield started to glow and the group was quick to activate them, which in turn released powerful bolts of energy that blasted the faces on the giant, spinning contraption. As the battle wore on, the machine began healing the spirits that it summoned and started to attack the party directly. Fortunately, the group was able to dispatch the spirits quite fast and in doing so they managed to utilize the anvils in rapid succession which led to the complete destruction of the face covered apparatus and the opening of the door that led forward.

Inside the massive area that laid ahead, were several more golems, an immense river of lava that flowed beneath the cliffs and the fabled Anvil of the Void that rested on a ledge above the lava.

As the group made their way forward, one of the golems approached and surprisingly greeted them.

"Welcome strangers, I am Caridin, the keeper of the Anvil of the Void." the golem said.

"Paragon Caridin?! How is that possible?" Duran asked incredulously.

"That is a long and painful story. You see I built many things in my lifetime, but the most famous of my inventions was The Anvil of the Void. It allowed me to forge a man of stone and steel, and because of it I was made into a Paragon. But no smith, regardless of talent, can imbue life where there is none. In order to give my golems life, I had to take it from elsewhere and thus the lives of my fellow dwarves were used to breathe life into the golems." Caridin explained.

"Mages have a short cut like that too. It's called blood magic and it never ends well." Daylen commented.

"It sounds almost exactly like blood magic, that means that all of these golems that we've been fighting...how terrible." Neria added sadly.

"Indeed, my crimes are great and I can never atone for them. In the beginning, I only used volunteers, the bravest of warriors who were willing to sacrifice their mortal shells in order to become soldiers of stone and steel to protect Orzammar. But eventually, King Valtor began forcing the casteless, criminals and his political enemies into becoming golems. When I objected he had me turned into a golem as well. My apprentices however, were unable to craft a control rod to subdue me and thus I retained my free will. Not long afterwards, I took the anvil and chose to disappear." Caridin continued.

"Poetic justice, I suppose." Daylen replied grimly.

"Aye...trapped forever in my own creation. A fitting punishment, I suppose. If there is any mercy in your hearts strangers, please destroy the Anvil. I am unable to do so as a golem but the death and sacrifices that it has wrought must come to an end." Caridin pleaded as he faced the party.

"NO! The Anvil is mine!" Branka screamed as she suddenly bolted out of nowhere before abruptly coming to a halt near the party. "He's been down here for centuries, stewing in his own resentment! Give me the Anvil and I can craft for you an army like no other! We could use it to reclaim everything that we've lost!" she added hysterically.

"No. The sacrifices would be too great. How many lives would have to be surrendered to satisfy such a goal? Please, put an end to this now." Caridin begged.

"There's only one man here who can make this decision." Daylen announced before facing Duran.

This was the type of decision that forged not only a man, but a ruler. Standing before them was one of the greatest temptations that could sway presumably anyone, especially someone hoping to lead a kingdom that was engaged in a never-ending war with darkspawn. The cost for such a tool was undoubtedly high and they had already seen for themselves what obsession could drive people to do. But Daylen had confidence in Duran as a leader, but more importantly as a good man and friend.

"Caridin, Duran here is the second son of the late Endrin Aeducan and a hopeful for the throne. He's also a Grey Warden and one of my best friends. Whatever decision he makes, we'll all abide by it, without question." Daylen added confidently as their friends voiced their approval.

Duran took a moment to appreciate his companions and the faith that they were placing in him.

"It is true, with the Anvil we could drive the darkspawn back and even reclaim the lost thaigs. But there isn't a soul who walks the stone who could honestly claim that they'd never be tempted to push for a bit more. Even if I considered myself such a man, someday the Anvil would fall into the hands of another and the madness of your era would undoubtedly return. We'd end up saving ourselves by destroying ourselves. Caridin, I will get rid of the Anvil." Duran said resolutely.

Daylen and the others quickly voiced their approval as Natia kissed Duran. "Thank you, your highness." Caridin said gratefully.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE IT FROM ME!" Branka shrieked.

"Branka, you mad nug! Is this thing so important that you've forgotten what you've lost to get it?!" Oghren shouted.

"She stopped giving a damn a long time ago, Oghren." Daylen said as he eyed the woman with a look of contempt.

"I've been waiting for this lady." Aedan added angrily as he drew his sword and readied his shield.

"We all have." Elissa remarked eagerly as she too drew her swords and began releasing her rage.

"He's not the only one who can control golems!" Branka yelled as she revealed a strange, glowing item that appeared to take control of four of the golems in the area.

"A control rod! Please, your highness, strangers, you must not let her prevail!" Caridin shouted desperately.

"No worries there!" Daylen replied as he quickly blasted one of Branka's golems with a crushing prison as chaos ensued.

The battlefield was complete pandemonium as Caridin and his four golems battled the three remaining golems that Branka commanded while the others lent their assistance wherever necessary. It didn't take long for the remaining golems to fall under the combined assault of the wardens, Caridin and his own golems. Meanwhile, Oghren and Branka were fighting it out in a rather brutal duel. The others were eager to rush Branka, but Daylen was quick to stop them.

"Let Oghren handle it! She is his wife after all." he said before turning his attention to the battle.

"Damn you woman! Is this thing really worth dying for?!" Oghren yelled as he parried an attack from her mace.

"I've sacrificed everything for the Anvil and I'll offer even more if I have to!" Branka shouted back as she hit Oghren with a shield bash that sent him sliding on his feet for several yards.

"Dammit!" Oghren spat as he recovered and launched a pommel strike that knocked Branka off her feet before he followed up with a critical strike that nearly tore her apart. Afterwards, he stood over the body of his now dead and deranged wife. After giving her one final look of remorse, he made his way back to the others.

"I'm sorry it had to go down like this Oghren." Daylen said solemnly as the dwarven warrior made his way over.

"I always said the damn thing would kill her." Oghren replied gruffly.

"Another life lost because of the Anvil. You have my condolences." Caridin said sympathetically before facing Duran. "Your highness, if there is anything that I can offer you, you need only ask."

"You could lend him your support as a Paragon. Help restore his name and honor and give him your blessing to be king." Daylen said seriously.

"Very well, I shall bring hammer to steel one final time and forge a crown for the rightful king of Orzammar." Caridin said before forging the most magnificent crown any of them had ever laid eyes on. Afterwards, he presented the masterpiece to the party.

"Daylen, you should hold on to it for the time being. Until I'm acknowledged by the assembly, I don't deserve to wear it." Duran said firmly.

"Are you serious?! A Paragon himself just gave you his blessing!" Aedan shouted in disbelief.

Daylen simply grinned. "Don't sound so surprised, our buddy here is as honorable as they come." he said as he took the crown.

"Now, I ask that you fulfill your promise and destroy the Anvil." Caridin said as he faced Duran.

Duran nodded and made his way to the ancient relic where he raised a nearby hammer and brought it down upon the Anvil. The age old masterpiece then fell into the lava below.

"Thank you, your highness. And now I can finally rest." Caridin said wearily before leaping into the river of lava himself.

There was silence for awhile among the young wardens as they came to terms with everything they'd learned and encountered since they began their journey into the Deep Roads.

"Well, we'd better get back. It's time we crowned a king." Daylen finally said before leading the way back to Orzammar.

Sometime later at the assembly in Orzammar, Bhelen was struggling to regain his lost support.

"Everyone knows the wardens have been aiding you Harrowmont!" Bhelen shouted.

"And I suppose we should've been helping a backstabbing, fratricidal, megalomaniac like you." Daylen replied sarcastically as the wardens and their allies entered the assembly.

"Daylen, you've all returned. Does this mean..." Harrowmont began.

"That we got the support of a Paragon? You bet your beard we did." Daylen responded confidently.

"The wardens found Paragon Caridin at the Anvil of the Void. He was in the body of a golem and they honored his last wish allowing him to finally get the peace he sought. Before he died, he forged a crown for his chosen king and made it clear that he wanted everything that had been wrongly stripped of the man returned." Oghren explained.

"This is ridiculous! And what does he mean...No! You can't mean Duran! You've been working to put him on the throne?!" Bhelen shouted, completely stunned by the revelation.

"Take a look for yourself." Daylen replied casually as he presented the crown to Bandelor, the steward of the assembly.

"This is indeed Caridin's mark." Bandelor said as he examined the crown. "Are we to understand that Paragon Caridin not only chose to restore Prince Duran's status but also chose him to lead Orzammar?"

"That's right. Any complaints?" Daylen asked as he eyed the assembly menacingly. He had blackmailed several members, others like Orta had willingly given their support and the stragglers who remained simply didn't want to challenge the word of a Paragon. There were murmurs of agreement that gradually spread across the entire chamber.

"I believe Paragon Caridin and the assembly have spoken." Harrowmont said as he too gave his support.

Moments later Duran marched forward, his name, honor and status now restored. After approaching Bandelor, he lowered his head and accepted the crown that Caridin forged for him. The new king of Orzammar had been chosen, the battle was over or at least nearly over. Bhelen was proving to be a bad loser.

"No! I won't allow this!" Bhelen shouted hysterically as several of his men and his second, Vartag Gavorn, attacked Duran.

Daylen quickly transformed into a bereskarn and mauled Vartag while Natia backstabbed and executed Bhelen's other underlings. Duran quickly clashed with Bhelen. It was the moment that he'd been looking forward to ever since his younger brother's betrayal.

"All your scheming, deception, betrayal and look where it got you!" Duran yelled as their shields clashed.

"You think me a villain brother? Our dear father claimed his thrown the same way! He convinced his older brother to fight a convicted murderer in a proving. He even coated the convict's blades in poison to make sure he lost! You're the only anomaly in the Aeducan family Duran, but don't worry! I'll give you the death you should've embraced months ago!" he shouted before attempting to shield bash Duran who quickly countered with his own.

Duran's strength proved to be greater as Bhelen was knocked off balance. Duran then unleashed an assault combo that completely floored Bhelen. He then stood over his mortally wounded younger brother.

"Maybe I am the oddball in our family, but you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm a better man for it." he said before bringing his war ax down into Bhelen's chest.

"Helluva coronation, don't you think?" Daylen joked afterwards as he approached Duran with the others.

"You're here. How else could it have gone?" Duran joked back as they began making their way outside the assembly and towards the royal palace.

Several hours later, they were all relaxing inside one of the many guest chambers of the royal palace.

"Sorry again about that mess with Ambassador Gainley. He was the last target the Crows wanted taken out and he was working for Loghain, so I did what I had to do." Daylen remarked casually as he relaxed in a chair.

"I understand that Daylen, but did you have to leave such a mess? The servants around here are still gossiping about what you and the witch did to Piotin and his men." Duran replied in an exhausted tone.

"I told you, you should have let me handle it." Natia added.

"Wouldn't that have been more of a scandal? The future queen of Orzammar murdering an ambassador from the surface." Aedan joked.

"I'm not queen yet. At the moment I'm just a concubine who handles our dear king's dirty work. I'm in no hurry to rush things though. Duran's already catching enough heat for inducting casteless into the army to help fight the Blight." Natia replied.

"So how many troops will be ready?" Elissa asked.

"The entire warrior caste and the additional casteless means that our resources will be more than substantial. Natia's been rallying even more than I expected." Duran said as he looked at her fondly.

"You're the first king to give them a chance, I'm just making sure they take it." Natia replied as she embraced Duran.

"I guess you'll both be busy for awhile. After all, you're the king now and Natia's running the Carta and helping you out where she can." Daylen remarked as he faced Duran. "It's going to be lonely without you two." he added quietly.

They all got quiet at Daylen's words. They had expected this, but it was still difficult to come to terms with. Duran and Natia had been there during some of the most important battles that they'd faced, they weren't just fellow wardens, they were friends.

"Dammit, what are you all getting so sad for? Once it's time to march against the Archdemon, you can bet your asses we'll be there leading the charge." Natia said as she made her way over to Elissa and Neria who were already getting teary-eyed. "No tears, just hugs before you go." she added before wrapping her arms around the both of them. They both returned the embrace and the three women continued to hold each other as Duran said his farewells to Daylen and the others.

"Try not to get into too much trouble, I won't be there to bail you out now." he joked as he playfully punched Daylen. "Theron, do what you can to cover his ass when things get bad."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to replace your presence Duran, but I'll do what I can." Theron replied quietly.

"And you two, try not to give Daylen too much grief, he won't have me to help break up fights now." he added as he faced Aedan and Darrian.

"I never start them to begin with." Aedan said defensively.

"So you're saying that I do?" Darrian replied in an annoyed tone.

Duran simply shook his head before turning to Alistair. "It won't be long before it's your turn."

"Oh, I'm in no rush. I'm still not convinced that I want to be king. I'm not like you Duran, I don't think I could handle...you know ruling." Alistair replied sheepishly.

"You'll do fine Alistair, trust me." Duran said reassuringly.

Alistair simply shrugged as he and the others continued their temporary farewells. Not long afterwards, Daylen and the others began making their way towards the exit to the Frostback mountains.

"It just won't be the same without them." Neria said sadly.

"I know." Daylen replied glumly.

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice shouting behind them. "Hang on a minute, dammit!" Oghren shouted as he rushed to catch up to the group. After catching up with them he took a minute to catch his breath. "I'm coming with you bastards!" he finally said in between breaths.

"What?!" Aedan said incredulously.

"You deaf or something? I said I'm tagging along. There's nothing left for me here and hell, I've got nothing else better to do, so I figure following you into the Blight could be a good way to pass the time." Oghren replied while grinning.

Daylen took a moment to consider Oghren's rather abrasive 'offer' to join them. "Yeah, sure, why not? At this point I've recruited every other kind of armed lunatic." he said sarcastically.

"You can't be serious?" Aedan remarked in complete disbelief.

"We're two men down now and Oghren can handle himself in a fight. Don't forget, now that all the treaties are fulfilled we have to deal with Loghain and his ilk." Daylen said seriously.

They all knew what that meant and what the stakes would be. "Fine, I give. Welcome aboard Oghren." Aedan said begrudgingly as the dwarven berserker joined the group.

"Aw, I love you too." Oghren replied sarcastically. "Well let's get this show on the road." he added as they all proceeded to leave Orzammar before heading towards their next challenge.


	42. Chapter 42: Bitter Reunions

Chapter 42: Bitter Reunions

"He's late!" Elissa muttered as she continued her training in the courtyard of Castle Redcliffe. Her mood was temperamental to say the least and she had good reasons for being moody. It had been nearly two weeks since Daylen parted ways with her and the others as he headed to the Circle's Tower to handle a few 'errands' while they all agreed to meet up at Redcliffe to travel to the Landsmeet together. Two of the tasks that he set out to complete were actually rather sweet in her opinion.

The first involved convincing First Enchanter Irving to allow an eager young dwarven girl to study the theory of magic at the tower. While it was a well known fact that dwarves were incapable of performing magic, that didn't stop the energetic dwarf known as Dagna from wanting to study the concept of magic. His second mission was to help Oghren reconnect with an old flame who apparently worked in the Spoiled Princess Inn near Lake Calenhad. Elissa couldn't help but think that Oghren recovered fast considering how little time had passed since Branka's fortunate demise. Then again, considering what Branka had become, perhaps it was a good thing that Oghren was ready to move on so quickly.

Daylen's final little job was the one that concerned Elissa the most. He had agreed to smuggle a substantial amount of lyrium for a shifty dwarf by the name of Rogek who resided in Dust Town. It was obviously a dangerous endeavor, but the possible reward was rather large thanks to Daylen's persuasive attitude in getting the dwarf to sweeten the deal. The favors for both Dagna and Rogek required him to travel to the Circle's Tower and then back to Orzammar and by now, word would have no doubt spread that they'd successfully settled matters in the dwarven kingdom to their benefit. And Elissa was certain that Loghain wouldn't be happy to hear about their success, he'd definitely make a move against them and soon.

As she continued her sword routines, she quickly noticed the familiar form of a certain bard calmly take a seat on the nearby steps of the castle. "You certainly work hard, you know? But I suppose it helps to keep your mind off of Daylen." she said while smiling.

"I don't know how you can be so calm. Aedan is with him you know, along with that drunk. There's no telling what sort of trouble they've gotten into." Elissa replied as she wiped the sweat from her face.

"But you forget, Dog is with them as well. Surely he can talk some sense into them if they try to get into any mischief." Leliana added with a grin. Both of the women laughed before Elissa made her way over and took a seat next to Leliana.

"We certainly chose a troublesome pair to fall in love with." Leliana added after awhile.

"I wouldn't change it though." Elissa replied quietly. "He steals my heart when we're both children, reappears after over a decade and sees me through the worst time of my life and gets me to fall for him even harder. Damn him." she added tenderly.

Leliana was quiet for a moment before she finally decided to respond. "Aedan told me about what happened to your family and about Howe...I'm sorry." she said gently.

"I knew he'd tell you eventually, that tragedy is part him after all, part of both of us. And we'll both carry the weight of it for the rest of our lives." Elissa responded sadly.

Leliana took her hand and held it as they both observed the sun setting in the distance. Several minutes later, the figures of two men, a dwarf and an energetic mabari could be seen making their way towards the castle.

"It's about time!" Elissa shouted as she rushed towards them.

"Did my lady miss me that much?" Daylen joked as they embraced before sharing a rather passionate kiss.

"What took you so long? You said a week at the most!" Elissa said angrily as he held her.

"To be honest, we got a little sidetracked after we got back to Orzammar." Daylen replied in a rather evasive manner.

"Sidetracked how?" Elissa asked as she glared at Daylen.

"We decided to reassemble those sword pieces that we found when we were fighting our way to the Anvil." Aedan answered.

"So you decided to go on another one of your treasure hunts while we were all waiting here and worrying?" Elissa asked angrily.

"I told you she'd be pissed." Aedan said in an annoyed tone as Elissa shot him a dirty look.

Daylen simply shrugged. "That's one way of looking at it, the other being that I went out of my way to get my girlfriend a sword that was worthy of her." Daylen replied casually as he presented her with the most exquisite sword she'd ever laid eyes on. "It's called Topsider's Honor. It's a powerful blade with some useful enchantments, especially for dealing with the undead." he added.

Elissa accepted the blade but not before punching Daylen in the arm. "I'm still mad at you." she said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Well, I'll just have to make it up to you with the next sword I find. You do use two after all." Daylen joked. Afterwards, they all made their way into the castle where Arl Eamon awaited. With Daylen and the others having finally returned, they could now make their way to Denerim for the Landsmeet and finally face Loghain.

Several days later, the young wardens and their allies found themselves as guests of honor in the arl's Denerim estate. Before they could fully appreciate the accommodations, they were met with a visit from none other than Loghain who was accompanied by Arl Howe and a knight by the name of Ser Cauthrien.

"Damn! Darrien, Theron, if things start to get out of hand I'll need you to restrain Aedan. I'll handle Elissa." Daylen said seriously.

Darrian appeared to be confused by the request, but Theron instantly understood. He had been present when Elissa's past with Howe had been revealed during their encounter with the guardian at the temple that housed the Urn of Sacred Ashes.

"Loghain, this is an unexpected honor." Arl Eamon announced as Loghain's entourage approached.

"How could I not pay a visit to a man important enough to call a Landsmeet during a time of war?" Loghain asked mockingly. "The people are frightened right now and you aren't helping matters with your selfish ambitions!"

"Yes, he's the selfish one for trying to prevent you from seizing control and plunging us all into oblivion." Daylen remarked sarcastically.

Loghain quickly faced him and also took notice of the other wardens who were present. "You...one of the recruits that I met at Ostagar. It is unfortunate that your order chose to betray the king and lead us all to ruin." he replied coldly.

"Would you look at that Darrian? He actually remembers us! Should we get an autograph?" Daylen replied in mockingly.

"His memory seems pretty poor to me. Lie to yourself and the mindless fools who follow you, but don't pretend for a minute that we don't know better." Darrian said bitterly as glared at Loghain.

"What the hell is this bastard doing here?" Aedan asked as he quivered with fury while staring in Howe's direction.

"It's only appropriate for the Arl of Denerim to accompany the regent for a visit-"

"I don't give a damn how many titles Loghain's handed you for kissing his ass! Understand one thing Howe, you won't get away with what you did to Highever. I will kill you." Aedan cut in coldly.

"Are you insane or simply stupid?" Ser Cauthrien asked seriously as she faced Aedan.

"Neither, but apparently you fit the bill for both given who you serve." Elissa replied as she glared at the knight ominously.

As silence and tension filled the room, Daylen continued to eye both Loghain and Howe, the two men he intended to see dead before the Landsmeet was over.

"The emperor of Orlais didn't believe I could best him either." Loghain finally said as he began leading his escort out of the estate.

"Funny, you fought alongside the future king of Ferelden to depose a tyrant. Interesting how things work out, eh Loghain?" Daylen remarked as he stood by Alistair while watching the regent leave with his people. Loghain gave Daylen one final look of rage before finally leaving.

"Well, that was-" the arl began.

"Tense? I agree." Daylen said as he faced him.

"What should our next move be now?" Theron asked.

"Many nobles have begun to arrive in the city now, we'd do well to know where they stand. We should know who our potential allies and enemies are." the arl replied.

"I guess we'll be heading into the city then. Elissa, Neria, would the two of you care to join me? I have to pay a visit to Wade and I'll need the both of you with me. Aedan, once we're finished I want you, Zevran, Oghren and Theron to meet me at the entrance to the market district." Daylen said casually.

If the others were confused or curious about Daylen's instructions, they didn't show it. At this point they'd all gotten used to his seemingly random schemes.

Sometime later, Daylen, Elissa and Neria found themselves inside Wade's Emporium where Daylen was eager to have another set of drakeskin armor made for Neria. Wade was delighted to get another chance to work with the scales, much to Herren's annoyance. Several hours later he presented Daylen with an even better set of armor that was superior to his first design in pretty much every conceivable way. Afterwards, Daylen decided to push his look further by presenting the man with the dragon scales from the high dragon that they'd slain.

Wade was practically giddy with anticipation, apparently the smith had dreamed of what he'd do with dragon scales for years. After choosing to have the master armor craftsman make a heavy set of dragon scale armor, everyone was astounded by how quickly the man created his greatest masterpiece yet. After being presented with a superior set of heavy armor crafted from the scales, Daylen was promptly banned from the shop by Herren, indefinitely. Daylen couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he surveyed Neria who was now wearing the superior set of drakeskin armor while Elissa equipped all of the components of the dragonscale armor minus the breastplate, they all agreed that Evon the Great's Mail was a superior alternative.

Satisfied with the his ladies' new armor, Daylen decided to bid them farewell as he attended to other business.

"What are you up to now?" Elissa asked suspiciously as he proceeded to make his way to the market entrance.

"Nothing important." Daylen replied before grinning.

Aedan and the others were awaiting him when he arrived. "Daylen, what's this all about? I'm really not in the mood for games right now." Aedan said tersely as he approached.

"I just figured you'd want to help liberate a kidnapped child from Arl Howe." Daylen replied casually.

"What?!" Aedan said, clearly shocked by the revelation.

"Daylen, please elaborate." Theron added calmly.

Daylen then explained how the final job for Master Ignacio and the Crows involved rescuing the kidnapped son of a rather prominent noble from Howe's thugs.

"So what do you say?" Daylen asked seriously as he faced Aedan.

"Of course I'm in." Aedan replied eagerly.

Not long afterwards they found themselves at the meeting spot where the exchange for the child was supposed to take place. Unfortunately, the situation quickly deteriorated and the child's abductor, Captain Chase and several of his men attacked. However, there were several Crows present who were disguised as agents of the child's father. Between the Crows, Daylen and the others, the kidnappers were quickly wiped out. The child's fate was sadly unknown.

"This is bad. Howe could've had the child murdered by now." Theron remarked darkly after the battle.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Aedan added angrily.

"Let's get back to Ignacio, he'd damn sure better have a contingency plan." Daylen said seriously before leading the group back to the secretive assassin in his room at the Gnawed Noble Tavern. After arriving and explaining the severity of the situation, the man appeared to be completely unfazed.

"Hey! Did you hear us?! They didn't bring the kid! Howe still has him!" Aedan yelled.

"I heard you rather well actually and the child is no longer in Howe's possession. Some 'friends' liberated him and returned him to his father while you dealt with the men responsible for his kidnapping. His very grateful father whose support will aid you a great deal in the future, I'm sure." Ignacio replied in a blasé manner.

"So you used us and kept us in the dark? I continue to find myself wondering why I bothered helping you bastards to begin with." Daylen remarked as he glared at Ignacio.

"To be honest, I expected you to betray us at some point. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. Believe it or not, you aided your own cause by helping us. You've dealt several serious blows to both Loghain and Howe. We could actually use someone of your talents in the Crows. Should you ever find yourself in Antiva, you should pay us a visit."

"No thanks, I've heard the benefits are garbage." Daylen replied casually while glancing at Zevran who grinned.

"Suit yourself. My business partner Cesar will be more than willing to open our 'special stock' to you now. Your payment is in the chest as usual. Farewell wardens." Ignacio said.

"Hold on a minute. Does this mean we won't have to deal with any more attempts on our lives from the likes of you?" Aedan asked seriously.

"As I mentioned before, there is still a contract on your heads. But there is only one among us who has accepted it, Taliesen. Fortunately for you, he'll discover that he is very much alone in his attempts to kill you. I wish you well." Ignacio replied before departing with his men.

After collecting a set of Red Jenny Seeker gloves from the chest, Daylen led the way back outside. "Well, that's some good news at least." he remarked as they made their way towards the exit of the market district.

"Why did you decide to bring me along for this Daylen?" Aedan asked curiously.

"Because I know you. That little meeting with Howe likely drove you to the breaking point. So I figured helping me undermine his operations would help you work out some aggression. One of the best ways for a man to work out some tension is a good fight." Daylen joked.

"Ha! I'll drink to that." Oghren added before taking a swig from his flask.

"So tell me, what is next on the agenda of 'working out tension' and does it involve a visit to a brothel?" Zevran asked cheerfully.

"Once you guys are done helping me with my errands, you're more than welcome to hit the Pearl, my treat. But don't expect me, Aedan or Theron to tag along. Especially me, I don't think I need to explain why. You've all met Elissa, right?" Daylen joked before they all laughed.

"So what other 'business' did you need our assistance with?" Theron asked.

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure myself. I was reading over that journal that I found in the ruins of that temple that held Andraste's ashes and the one from that ruin in the Brecilian Forest. I came to the conclusion that the guys they belonged to were part of the same group of adventurers. My suspicions were confirmed when I met the third member of their entourage who was still alive and completely paranoid in Tapster's back in Orzammar. Call it curiosity, but I intend to find out what happened to these guys." Daylen explained.

"You do realize what curiosity did to the cat, no?" Zevran quipped.

"Well, I tend to scrape by just fine. But if this ends up turning into one of our more dangerous excursions, I think we can all agree that it stays between us." Daylen replied casually.

As they made their way to the alley that housed the possible source of the adventurers' malady, they were met by a group of assassins led by a rather cocky rogue.

"Taliesen? So you really did come." Zevran remarked as he faced his acquaintance.

"Well, this is convenient. Once we kill you, we won't have to worry about any more Crows coming after us." Daylen added nonchalantly.

"I had to come when I heard about the great Zevran's failure. It's alright though, I know why you're here. We can patch this all up, just come back with me." Taliesen said in a possibly genuine tone.

"I think he'll pass on that offer. Zevran doesn't need the Crows anymore." Daylen replied.

"Really? Does Zevran need to breath?" Taliesen responded spitefully.

"I suspect I'll do just fine and you should have stayed in Antiva old friend." Zevran said before launching the first attack against the group of assassins.

The assassins had clearly prepared for the ambush, there were traps surrounding their archers while several of their members began slipping into the shadows and attempted to backstab the party.

Daylen quickly transformed into a swarm of insects and wreaked havoc on his would be assailants while Theron began picking off archers with several well placed critical shots and arrows of slaying. Oghren completely ignored the traps and simply flew into a rage as he barreled into a group of assassins who he quickly tore apart. Meanwhile, Aedan battled a pair of their more elite members. After releasing a war cry that knocked them off their feet, he quickly released an assault combo on one before planting his sword into the chest of another. Zevran had begun battling Taliesen and at first it seemed that the two assassins were evenly matched. But it wasn't long before Zevran gained the upper hand after deftly dodging one of Taliesen's attacks and following up with a string of dual strike attacks followed by a punisher combo. Zevran showed no remorse as his old comrade fell dead and calmly returned to the others after the battle was over.

"And so it is done. With this the Crows will assume that Taliesen and I killed each other. They'll be off my trail at least for a little awhile." he said with a note of relief in his voice.

"So what now? You plan to keep tagging along with us? Daylen asked curiously.

"I see no reason to venture with you any further. You have given me a great deal Daylen and I consider you and the others as friends, buy I think now it is time we parted ways." Zevran replied solemnly.

"Hmm, well I guess I'll keep all the treasure that I find for myself then. It's a shame really, no more Zevran getting a finder's fee." Daylen remarked with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Alright, you convinced me. I'll stay a bit longer, at least until the Blight is over. You do have a habit of stumbling across treasure rather frequently." Zevran said before laughing.

Afterwards they all continued to the unassuming hovel that they were headed for previously. After knocking on the door and demanding entry, they were welcomed inside by an enigmatic stranger whom Daylen recognized instantly as not being human.

"Gaxkang, I presume?" Daylen asked seriously.

"Indeed, now bear witness. Witness to me. WITNESS GAXKANG!" the creature shouted as it began to transform.

Daylen and the others quickly drew their weapons and readied themselves for their toughest fight yet. "Alright, the women definitely don't need to hear about this one. Agreed?" he remarked before glancing at his friends. They all nodded their agreement as the creature called Gaxkang stood before them as an immense arcane horror and prepared to attack.


	43. Chapter 43: Settling the Score

Chapter 43: Settling the Score

As Daylen and the others faced the giant arcane horror that now stood before them, they were certain that the ensuing battle was going to be tough and the creature certainly didn't disappoint. It immediately hit Zevran with a misdirection hex before blasting Oghren with an affliction hex followed by a curse of mortality. Daylen reacted instantly by casting an anti-magic burst that dispelled the effects before activating his spell might.

"Not on my watch buddy." he added coldly before hitting the creature with the most powerful mana clash he'd ever summoned.

Gaxkang was immediately brought to his knees, but the creature was far from finished. It quickly transformed into a Revenant and went into a shield wall stance. Theron attempted to puncture the fiend's defenses with a shattering shot, but his attack proved useless as Gaxkang simply shrugged off his arrow before pulling the Dalish hunter towards him with telekinesis and cutting him down. Both Aedan and Ohgren launched an attack afterwards while Daylen casted a heal spell on Theron. Fortunately the wound he suffered was shallow, but still quite serious.

Zevran then joined the assault against the creature by making several backstab attempts, but Gaxkang began to radiate a sinister aura that instantly weakened all of the warriors around him before scattering them all in different directions with his telekinesis. Daylen then transformed into a bereskarn and met the creature head-on. Gaxkang not only held off his attack, but actually overpowered him, executing a double strike with his sword that completely dropped the young mage. The creature then lifted Daylen telekinetically into the air before releasing a shockwave from his blade that sent him crashing into a nearby wall.

Aedan was on his feet now and rallying the others who had begun standing as well. Oghren had released his rage and was now assaulting the creature with the most powerful blows he could muster while Zevran executed a string of dual strike attacks from Gaxkang's blindside. Aedan himself had taken a shield wall stance and began battling the creature directly. Despite their combined efforts, Gaxkang managed to guard against and counter all three of them effortlessly. The creature eventually pulled Oghren telekinetically and stabbed him with his sword before tossing him into Zevran, sending both men flying into another wall, leaving a substantial dent.

Aedan was on his own now, but he had no intention of backing down. He quickly released a war cry that left Gaxkang thoroughly unfazed. The creature simply laughed before unceremoniously punching him in the face. As Aedan spun from the impact of the attack, Gaxkang quickly closed in and executed another double strike with his sword. Aedan was quick to regain his footing though, and parried both strikes before hitting Gaxkang with a shield bash that slightly staggered the fiend. Aedan quickly attempted to take advantage of the opening and bolted towards the creature who promptly lifted him telekinetically and sent him flying across the room into the one wall that hadn't been smashed yet.

Gaxkang then made his way towards the fallen warrior and prepared to skewer him with his sword, but just as his blade was about to make contact, a force field appeared around Aedan as Daylen, now back in human form, rose to his feet.

"You really do live up to your reputation." he said exhaustedly before activating spell might once more and blasting the creature with a stonefist spell that knocked it off balance.

As Gaxkang recovered from the attack, he immediately made his way towards Daylen. But he was suddenly bombarded by a flurry of arrows. Theron was standing once more and firing a string of shots while taking a suppressing fire stance. He also fired a crippling shot and a spinning shot that severely hampered the fiend's movements. Daylen then hit the creature with a flame blast and a shock spell. Gaxkang once again fell to his knees and transformed into an arcane horror once more before Daylen promptly hit him with yet another mana clash that forced him to return to his Revenant form.

As Gaxkang rose to his feet yet again, he attempted to pull Daylen and Theron telekinetically towards him. Daylen responded by transforming into a swarm of insects while Theron fired a well aimed shattering shot into the creature's face from midair. Theron was swiftly dropped while Daylen rematerialized behind the fiend who he instantly engulfed with another flame blast. As Gaxkang struggled to close in on Daylen while still ablaze, Theron fired another spinning shot that hindered the beast's movements as Aedan rose to his feet, the force field having now worn off.

Daylen quickly enchanted his sword with telekinetic energy as he approached the creature. Without hesitation, Aedan unleashed an overpower combo that that staggered Gaxkang before finally finishing the monster off with an assault combo. After the fiend dropped to the floor, dead, Daylen took the opportunity to heal the others.

"What the hell was that thing?" Aedan finally asked after the others had recovered.

"Come on, can you honestly tell me you've never heard a song or tavern story about 'The Unbound' and the horrors that it brings to those unfortunate enough to meet it." Daylen remarked casually.

"So it was a demon?" Aedan asked.

"I figured that was pretty obvious. I have to admit, I never actually believed the damn thing existed though." Daylen replied.

"The world will be a far safer place with it gone." Theron commented seriously.

"I believe Oghren and myself will take up our fearless leader's previous offer of a night of pleasures on your behalf. Given what we just faced, I think we deserve more than a bit of amusement." Zevran remarked with a wince of pain as he clutched his ribs.

"You can say that again! The worst part is that I didn't even get to kill the damn thing!" Oghren growled as he scowled at Gaxkang's remains angrily.

Daylen tossed a small pouch of sovereigns to Zevran who eagerly accepted the gift. "Try to not get into too much trouble." Daylen said while grinning.

"I tend to end up in the most trouble when I'm with you Daylen, not that I'm complaining mind you." Zevran joked.

Afterwards Daylen turned his attention to Gaxkang's remains. "Hello, what have we here?" he mused as he noticed a rather unique sword and shield lying in the creature's remnants. He quickly grabbed the shield and examined it.

"I do believe I've found a gift for Neria. I can feel the arcane energy in this shield, this will be perfect for her." he commented cheerfully.

He then picked the sword up and scanned it. "And this goes to Elissa, I've never seen enchantments this powerful and oddly enough the sword is rejecting my grasp."

"What do you mean?" Aedan asked.

"See for yourself." Daylen replied before handing him the blade.

"It feels fine to me." Aedan remarked as he held the sword.

"Exactly. I have a feeling that only a warrior could use that sword. Well, this will make the perfect partner for Topsider's Honor." Daylen replied pleasantly.

"Right and what are you planning to tell Elissa and Neria when they ask where we got these?" Aedan asked seriously.

"That we went shopping obviously. There won't be any problems as long as you and Theron let me do the talking." Daylen replied calmly.

This would prove to be fairly tricky on their part however. Aedan was subpar at best when it came to lying, but he had no trouble keeping his mouth shut when the situation called for it. Theron on the other hand was incapable of concealing anything, especially from Neria. If she managed to ask him anything about the sword or shield, they'd all be exposed.

Daylen decided not to obsess about it too much as he searched the small dwelling for other possible treasures. Inside a chest located in a small room in the back of the hovel, Daylen discovered a pair of enchanted gloves, the Elementalist's Grasp and a rather substantial sum of sovereigns. He quickly equipped the gloves before leading the way back outside where he and the others parted ways with Zevran and Oghren who headed towards the Pearl.

Back at the arl's estate, Elissa and Neria were both quite thrilled with their new armaments.

"Daylen, this sword is amazing! It must have cost a fortune!" Elissa exclaimed.

"I think we got a good deal." Daylen replied casually.

"This shield is incredible too, I can feel the magic flowing through it. Did you find this at the Wonders of Thedas?" Neria asked innocently.

"No, we-" Theron began.

"Found it somewhere else, at quite a bargain too." Daylen cut in.

"Between the armor and these swords, you really went out of your way. Thanks." Elissa replied graciously before hugging Daylen as Neria did the same for Theron. Both men instantly winced in pain and the girls were quick to take notice.

"What's wrong?" Neria asked in a concerned tone as she took a moment to survey Theron.

"I received an injury during battle earlier." he responded carefully.

"What?! What happened?" Neria asked as she began examining Theron further and quickly took notice of the wound he'd gotten from Gaxkang.

"Yeah, what happened?" Elissa asked suspiciously as she eyed Daylen. They'd clearly been in a fight and a serious one too for Daylen and Theron to have gotten injured.

"Well, to be honest we did get into a few skirmishes today." Daylen said plainly before recounting their fight to rescue the kidnapped child and the Crows' ambush.

"How terrible!" Neria exclaimed.

"Well, on the bright side, we don't have to worry about attacks from the Crows anymore and Zevran is free of them for the time being. We also busted up another one of Howe's schemes and earned a friend in the Landsmeet. I'd say that's worth a few scrapes and bruises." Daylen commented pleasantly.

"And you're sure those are the only fights you've been in today?" Elissa asked as she glanced at her brother who was struggling to avert her gaze.

"The only ones worth mentioning." Daylen replied casually.

"Those assassins must've been using enchanted weapons or had their weapons laced in freeze coating. This cut was definitely made by something cold." Neria commented as she tended to Theron's injury.

That's when Elissa took notice of the fact that her new sword, the Keening Blade, had a frost enchantment on it. "Daylen, you know how much I hate it when you lie to me. I'm giving you one chance now, were you three involved in any other altercations that you want to tell us about?"

Daylen took a moment to consider exactly how to respond to Elissa's query without creating a stir. "Well, there was a demon." he replied hesitantly. "Not a big deal though and Zevran and Oghren were with us, so it wasn't too extreme." he quickly added after noticing Elissa's eyes narrow.

"What kind of demon? It had to be pretty powerful to put up a fight against all five of you and it managed to injure you two." Neria asked curiously as she looked from Theron to Daylen.

"Yes, and since when do demons use weapons? According to Neria, Theron's wound came from something cold and presumably sharp. The only demonic creatures that we've encountered who use weapons are undead corpses and Revenants." Elissa added.

Daylen was beginning to curse himself for teaching Elissa about the different types of demons and undead. Who would've thought that it would all come back to bite him in the ass.

"Give it up Daylen, it was only a matter of time before she sniffed out the truth." Aedan remarked.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Daylen replied in a defeated tone. He then explained their battle with Gaxkang and how he alternated between the forms of a Revenant and an arcane horror. He also mentioned liberating the shield, called the Fade Wall and the sword, known as the Keening Blade from Gaxkang's remains.

"And you weren't planning on telling us anything, were you?" Elissa asked angrily after he finished his explanation.

"Not if I could help it." Daylen replied honestly.

"I can't believe you-" Elissa began.

Fortunately for Daylen, Alistair arrived to cut things short. "Daylen, you might want to see Arl Eamon in his study. We have a 'guest' with some troubling news." he said seriously before leading the way out.

As they all made their way into the study where the arl and Darrian both awaited, they were surprised to find a rather panicked young elven woman with an Orlesian accent.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to-" the arl began.

"My name is Erlina, I am the handmaiden of her highness, Queen Anora." the woman announced proudly.

"Or perhaps the young lady would prefer to speak for herself." the arl remarked after her introduction.

"And what exactly does her highness want with us?" Daylen asked suspiciously.

"Please, you must help. The queen is being held prisoner by Arl Howe and fears for her life. I heard him talking to his men, he said that she'd be more useful dead, especially if her death could be blamed on Arl Eamon." Erlina said desperately.

"Right, and she wants us storm Howe's base of operations. And I'm sure Loghain was perfectly fine with Howe imprisoning his only daughter." Alistair remarked wryly.

"The king was like a son to the teyrn and he allowed him to die. Does he care about her highness more?" Erlina asked darkly.

"So you're saying the queen has doubts about her father." Daylen added seriously.

"The teyrn promised her highness that he would look after her husband. When he returned with no king and only dark rumors, what was she to think? So she decided to pay a visit to Arl Howe, a visit from the queen to the new arl was only fitting. She confronted him about the teyrn's possible role in the king's death among other things." Erlina explained.

"Oh, I'm sure that went over real well." Daylen replied sarcastically.

"He called her every foul name he could think of, traitor being the kindest. Afterwards he had her locked inside a guestroom and now...please you must help her." Erlina finally finished.

"I'll go." Aedan replied instantly.

"Me too." Elissa added without hesitation.

"I figured as much, well I'd better go too and make sure things stay fair." Daylen remarked seriously.

"I'll go too. I owe that bastard for ordering the purge on the alienage." Darrian said while clenching his fists.

"No." the others said in unison.

"What?! Why?!" Darrian replied angrily.

"Aedan and Elissa have their own reasons for wanting to handle this and I'm going to make sure nothing gets in their way." Daylen said sternly as he faced the angry young elf.

"This is bull-"

"Enough Darrian. This is the way it should be." Theron interjected before facing the twins. "I wish you luck." he added before placing a hand on Aedan's shoulder.

"Theron...thanks." Aedan replied appreciatively.

Theron nodded before he and Neria left the study.

"Her highness knew that you would help her! The arl has spoke often of the young wardens who have thwarted him." Erlina replied happily. "I managed to smuggle a few guard uniforms from the arl's estate. Meet me at the entrance and you can sneak in through the servant's entrance." she added eagerly before departing.

Several minutes later, Daylen, Aedan and Elissa began making their way towards the entrance hall. Leliana caught sight of them and immediately rushed over. "We all heard the situation from Alistair and I'm coming too."

"Leliana, I appreciate the thought but this is going to get dangerous the moment we step foot inside that bastard's territory. It's bad enough Elissa is coming, I don't want to put you in the middle of this too." Aedan replied firmly.

Leliana simply stared at him for a few moments. "There is no danger that I wouldn't be willing to face for your sake." she said before wrapping her arms around him. "You helped me put my demons to rest, so now allow me to do the same for you." she added tenderly.

"I don't think you're winning this argument, buddy." Daylen said while grinning.

"You're probably right." Aedan replied after sighing. Afterwards he returned Leliana's embrace before all four proceeded to outside.

"This is it you know. I can feel it." Elissa said seriously as they made their way towards the Arl of Denerim's estate.

"So can I and I've waited a long time for this moment." Aedan replied calmly. "We're long overdue to pay Howe a visit." he added as his eyes lit up with fury.

Daylen observed them both, the woman he loved and his best friend. No matter what, he planned to back them up and see to it that justice was done. Howe had already proven on numerous occasions that he could play dirty, but so could Daylen and he was more than ready to cause a little mayhem to even the odds.

"This should be fun." he remarked in a cynical tone as the estate came into view.


	44. Chapter 44: Avenging Highever

Chapter 44: Avenging Highever

"Dammit!" Darrian shouted angrily as he paced back and forth in one of the guest rooms of Arl Eamon's Denerim estate. "I should be the one dealing with that bastard!" he added before continuing his pacing.

"You are certainly justified in your desire for a reckoning. But so are Aedan and Elissa, and I'm afraid their reasons trump yours, if only because of the personal connection they share in regards to Howe's ruthlessness." Theron said wisely.

"What the hell do you mean? They get to kill him because of some personal dispute among nobles." Darrian replied derisively.

"No. You seek vengeance against Howe for what he has done to the alienage and the suffering that he has likely caused to your friends and family. That is also the reason that they seek to bring justice upon him." Theron explained before hesitating.

"It's alright Theron, the rest of us already know the circumstances and the only way to stop Darrian from doing something reckless is to tell him. I'm sure Aedan and Elissa will understand." Neria added gently.

Darrian then looked at the pair with a rather confused look before Theron continued. "Rendon Howe orchestrated the murder of the entire Cousland family in order to take control of Highever. This included the deaths of both of the Cousland elders as well as Aedan and Elissa's sister in law and her young son. I don't know all of the details, but I do know that Aedan himself bore witness to the aftermath of his sister in law's murder and that of the young child who she died protecting, to no avail. The image of both still haunts him and he carries a great deal of guilt for what he feels to be his failure in protecting them." Theron explained quietly.

Darrian was completely stunned. "But...they're nobles aren't they? Teyrns? How?" he began.

"How could they suffer an atrocity that you would normally associate with victims who are commoners or elves? Darrian, after everything that we've seen and encountered, are you really still that naive and narrow-minded?" Theron asked sternly as he faced the young elf. "Given what Duran himself suffered, not to mention Daylen and Alistair who were more fortunate than most, do you still believe that cruelty can only affect those who aren't of nobility? he added seriously.

Darrian was quiet for several minutes as he considered Theron's words. "Was I the only one who didn't know?" he finally asked quietly.

"At first Daylen and Neria were the only ones who knew. They were both present in Highever Castle when Howe's soldiers attacked and honored the wishes of the Cousland elders by helping Aedan and Elissa escape. I discovered the truth during our journey through the temple that housed Andraste's ashes. Leliana knows because of how close she and Aedan are. Duran and Natia were made aware of their circumstances not long after Duran learned of his own father's death. I believe that Alistair has known the truth for almost as long as Daylen and Neria due to his early camaraderie with Daylen and Aedan. At this point I'm sure everyone knows the truth, whether they learned through Aedan and Elissa themselves or simply discerned it through other means." Theron explained.

Darrian had once again gotten quiet as he considered the fact that two of the people that he'd been fighting alongside had harbored such a horrible secret and that he had been completely oblivious.

"Maybe I am still naive." Darrian finally admitted.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't have to remain the case. Consider what you have learned here today and remember it whenever you find yourself grouping everyone of noble descent into the same category." Theron replied seriously as he and Neria left the young elf alone to his thoughts.

Meanwhile, outside of the entrance to the Arl of Denerim's estate, Daylen and the others were preparing for their infiltration.

"What's with the crowd?" Daylen asked Erlina as he observed the large and angry gathering of people outside the estate.

"The estate has fallen into disrepair and the new arl has not been prompt in paying his bills." Erlina explained as she handed the party the guard uniforms that she'd smuggled outside.

After changing into the uniforms, they immediately made their way to the servants' entrance at the rear of the estate where a pair of guards awaited. Erlina quickly distracted them while the others slipped inside the estate. Several minutes later, Erlina rejoined them and they all began navigating the interior of the estate, careful not to draw any attention to themselves. It didn't take long for the group to make it to the guestroom where the queen was being held prisoner.

"Your highness, I have brought the Grey Wardens!" Erlina announced as they approached the door to the room.

"Thank you Erlina. I would greet you properly wardens, but my 'host' has made that somewhat impossible at the moment." Queen Anora replied in a rather annoyed tone.

"Yeah, I noticed." Daylen replied casually as he examined the magical barrier that had been erected on the door to the guestroom. "Let me guess, Howe has a few mages on his payroll." he added in a cynical tone.

"Can you do anything about the barrier?" Elissa asked.

"Sure, once I kill the mages who put it up in the first place. I'm fairly certain they won't just lower it if we ask nicely." Daylen joked.

"The mages are likely with Howe in his room at the far end of the hall." Anora added.

"Good." Aedan remarked coldly.

"Once we attack, our cover will undoubtedly be blown. We must act quickly." Leliana said seriously.

After leaving Erlina outside Anora's door, the group proceeded to Howe's room but not before Leliana and Daylen raided the treasury. They also stole some unusual documents from a chest inside the room before proceeding to a set of steps that led into the castle's dungeons. As they approached, a guard was alerted to their presence but was quickly strangled from behind by the prisoner in the nearby cell he was guarding. After the unidentified man looted the key to the cell from the dead guard, he dragged the man's body into the cell where he proceeded to steal his armor before appearing before the party.

"Okay..." Daylen remarked in an unsure tone.

"I thank you friends, your timely distraction allowed me to finally make my escape from this place." the man said gratefully. "If I might ask, what are you doing here?"

"Grey Warden business, that's all you need to know." Aedan replied tersely.

"Grey Wardens? Then are you part of the group of recruits that Duncan found? Thank the maker. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Riordan, a fellow Grey Warden." the man explained.

"How the hell did Howe catch you?" Elissa asked.

"With an offer of hospitality and a poisoned chalice. I traveled here from Orlais in the hopes of discovering the current situation. After Ostagar, our entire Orlesian branch came to lend their assistance but were turned away at the border. That was when we learned that wardens were being blamed for the king's death. Afterwards it was decided that one man traveling alone could better assess the circumstances here and as a native Ferelden, I volunteered. I was a fool to believe that Howe hadn't figured out who I was. By now he's likely taken the documents that I liberated from the vault in our Denerim wareheouse." Riordan explained.

"You mean these?" Daylen asked as he presented the documents to Riordan.

"Yes. These records hold details of the recruits who have joined among other things. They are meant for warden eyes only." Riordan replied seriously.

"So how much backup can we expect?" Aedan asked.

"None I'm afraid. The other wardens have no intention of fighting Ferelden's civil war. They believe that it would be a waste of strength and that their time and resources would be better used in preparing for the Archdemon after it's laid waste to Ferelden." Riordan replied gravely.

"What?! So we're on our own?! We've seen that thing Riordan and there are only nine of us, ten if we count you! Historically it's taken a hell of a lot more people than that to slay an Archdemon!" Elissa said desperately.

"Elissa, that's enough. We always knew this was a possibility. The other wardens aren't wrong, they can't afford to waste their strength getting Ferelden to come to its senses. They have to be ready to stop the Blight from spreading any further and we have to be ready to do everything in our power to see to it that it ends here." Daylen added seriously.

"I am sorry that this burden has fallen to those so young, but from what I hear you've been doing a fantastic job of rising to the challenge. With the armies that you've gathered, we may have a chance." Riordan commented proudly.

"Riordan, we've been staying with Arl Eamon and I'm sure he'll welcome you if you make your way to his estate in the market district. We'll meet you later to discuss things further." Aedan said before extending his hand to the senior warden.

"To Arl Eamon's then, I wish you all luck in whatever it is that has brought you here." Riordan replied before shaking Aedan's hand and departing.

"We'll worry about the Archdemon later, right now you two should focus on the bastard waiting in this dungeon." Daylen said firmly before they all made their way down into the dungeon where Howe was undoubtedly waiting for them.

As they descended the stairs that led into the dungeons, they were immediately alerted the chatter of some of the guards. Daylen quickly summoned and inferno in the chamber at the bottom of the stairs that immediately killed their would be attackers. As they proceeded further into the dungeons, several more guards attacked and were promptly annihilated by the group. Oddly enough Leliana seemed to be singing softly as they killed the opposition, weirder still was the fact that Daylen and the others felt encouraged by the song which seemed to help them perform better in battle.

"So, I'm guessing this is one of the secrets of a bard." Daylen commented curiously.

"Oh, that's right. This is the first time that you've seen me reveal my talents outside of a bow." Leliana replied with a grin.

"Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?" Aedan remarked.

"Honestly, yeah." Daylen replied, clearly impressed by the performance before leading the way further through the dungeon.

They eventually stumbled across a torture room where several more guards and torturers attacked. Daylen quickly transformed into a bereskarn and tore into the opposition while Leliana sang a song of courage and covered him with several rapid shots. After clearing the area they noticed a rather agitated and desperate man who was strapped to some sort of torture device. After releasing him, they were greeted to a rather irritated 'welcome'

"It's about time! Did my father think he was teaching me a lesson by waiting so long to send help?" the man asked in a disgruntled tone.

"I hate to break this to you, but we have no idea who you are." Daylen replied casually.

"What?! Then that means...Father has no idea who he's allying himself with." the man remarked dismally.

"Who are you anyway and what were you doing down here?" Elissa asked.

"My name is Oswyn and I am the son of Bann Sighard. My nursemaid's son and I are good friends and he happened to be stationed in Ostagar. After the battle, he relayed some troubling news. He claimed that he was ordered to leave the field before the king was overrun by darkspawn. After he told me, he disappeared. I went to search for him, but after I accepted a drink in a tavern from a stranger one evening I awoke here." Oswyn explained.

"Typical. The soldiers who questioned his treachery conveniently 'disappeared' while his mindless sycophants likely got promoted." Aedan remarked bitterly.

"Will your father be at the Landsmeet?" Daylen asked.

"So there is a Landsmeet! Howe claimed it had been called off. Listen, I'm certain that my father would reward you handsomely for freeing me from this place. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to return to him and see to it that he knows what's happened." Oswyn replied urgently before limping from the room.

"How awful." Leliana remarked quietly as they watched the man leave.

"Well done Howe, you just gave us another friend in the Landsmeet." Daylen added bitterly before leading the way further into the dungeon.

After making their way to the deepest reaches, they discovered another room that held several more prison cells and Howe who was accompanied by two mages and a pair of warriors.

"Well, well-"

Daylen quickly killed both mages with a mana clash before turning to Aedan. "He's all yours." he said resolutely before placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. Aedan placed a hand on Daylen's shoulder as well and nodded his thanks before making his way into the center of the room where he immediately square off against Howe while Elissa closed in on the warriors. Leliana attempted to join the fray as well, but Daylen quickly grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"They have to handle this themselves." He said calmly as he observed the battle that was beginning to unfold.

"I...yes, you're right." Leliana replied hesitantly before she too turned her attention to the ensuing fight.

Howe quickly slipped into the shadows and began assaulting Aedan from all directions with his ax and dagger. Aedan had already readied himself with his shield and Howe found that the young warrior's defense was nearly impenetrable. Undeterred, Howe quickly hit Aedan with a dirty fighting attack that left him stunned and vulnerable. Howe followed up with a cripple attack that severely hindered Aedan's movements. As the young warrior struggled to regain his footing, Howe unleashed several vicious strikes with his ax that caught Aedan off guard.

"What's the matter?! Is that the best Bryce's little boy can do?!" Howe shouted derisively before once again slipping into the shadows.

Elissa struggled to restrain herself as she watched the duel. She had already destroyed Howe's bodyguards and was now witnessing her brother's battle against the man who'd nearly taken everything from them. She could tell that the fight was proving to be difficult for Leliana to watch as well, but Daylen seemed to be completely calm as he watched his friend battle his nemesis.

Aedan had once again steadied himself and switched to his shield defense mode. Howe once again appeared and this time unleashed a below the belt attack that once again caused Aedan to drop his guard while Howe made several ruthless strikes against him before once again slipping into the shadows.

"Kill me will you? Well you're doing a pretty poor job of it. Are you finding daddy's armor a little hard to fill?" Howe jeered from the shadows.

Aedan once again steadied himself and adopted his shield defense stance. Not long afterwards Howe once again appeared and attempted to make yet another low strike against Aedan who was prepared and quickly unleashed a shield bash so powerful that it sent Howe soaring into the nearby wall. Howe attempted to recover but the strike had left his face quite bloody and the sheer force of the attack had sent a jolt through his entire body. As he struggled to his feet, Aedan met him face to face and released a shield pummel followed by an overpower attack that dropped Howe instantly. As he laid on floor broken and bloody, he looked up at Aedan with eyes full of resentment.

"Your father would've been proud, but I-"

Aedan finished the arl off with an assault combo before he could finish. "You don't have the right to speak of our father." he replied coldly as he surveyed the battered remains of his greatest enemy.

Afterwards, both Elissa and Leliana made their way over and hugged him. Daylen strolled over as well with a grin on his face. "Were you trying to make it more dramatic? Or did you intentionally get a few scrapes so that Leliana could kiss them later?" he joked.

They all playfully shoved Daylen before turning their attention to the cells in the back of the room. Aedan looted the key from Howe's body before leading the way towards them. There were likely more falsely imprisoned inmates and they all aimed to free them before they left.

The cells were largely unoccupied with the exception of one that held what appeared to be an exhausted and delirious man who happened to be praying.

"Maker forgive me. I allowed him to escape and now there's no telling what carnage he's wrought." the man said hysterically.

"Um, excuse our interruption, but who are you and what are you talking about?" Daylen asked curiously.

"I...my name is Irminric and I am a templar in the service of the Chantry. My...mission was to apprehend a maleficar who used blood magic against his fellow mages and the templars of his tower to escape. I cornered him near Redcliffe but Teyrn Loghain's men took him from me and had me imprisoned here." Irminric explained with a great deal of difficulty.

"So he's a templar?" Elissa asked quietly.

"I'm guessing that he was one of the guys sent to hunt Jowan down and this is apparently what lyrium withdrawal looks like. Not pretty." Daylen replied grimly.

"Please, give this ring to my sister, Alfstanna and tell her that I'm sorry." Irminric pleaded before once more succumbing to his delusions.

Daylen accepted the ring and opened the man's cell in the unlikely event that he could manage to escape. Afterwards they all made their way out of the dungeons and back to Anora's room where they were met with the amusing sight of the queen dressed in a guard's uniform.

"Well, don't you make an adorable guard?" Daylen joked as Aedan stifled a laugh.

"Very funny. This is the best way for us to make our escape. If Howe's people catch us, they'll have me killed and if my father's people catch us, they'll insist on returning me to my father...who may also have me killed." Anora replied quietly.

"Well, we don't plan on running across either, so let's get moving." Aedan commented in a rush.

As they entered the entrance hall that led to the exit, they were met with a significant 'welcome' led by Ser Cauthrien. Her entourage included nearly a dozen archers, two well armed warriors and a mage.

"You just had to go and open your mouth." Daylen said in an annoyed tone as he glanced at Aedan who simply shrugged.

"You're all under arrest for the murder of Rendon Howe. I suggest you surrender." Ser Cauthrien announced.

"Word really does travel fast, I literally just killed the bastard." Aedan remarked smugly.

"Ser Cauthrien was it? About the whole surrendering thing, consider this our response." Daylen replied before quickly hurling a fireball that decimated half of the archers before blasting the other half with a chain lightning spell that instantly killed them.

"Bring them down! Loghain wants them dead or alive!" Ser Cauthrien yelled angrily as she rushed Daylen. Anora and Erlina were quick to slip away during the chaos, a fact that Daylen was quick to take notice of.

"What a rude monarch." he quipped as he prepared to face Ser Cauthrien.

Suddenly a very familiar figure intercepted the knight as she advanced on Daylen. "This bitch is mine!" Elissa shouted as she released her rage.

They all knew better than to argue with Elissa while she was in berserker mode and Daylen quickly turned his attention to the enemy mage who he immediately killed with a mana clash. Aedan and Leliana were already tearing down the two warriors and before long the battle devolved into a one on one match between Elissa and Ser Cauthrien.

To her credit, Ser Cauthrien managed to fend off several of Elissa's strikes, but Elissa's continued momentum eventually overwhelmed the knight. After Elissa practically tore her apart with a string of high speed sword strikes, Ser Cauthrien was brought to her knees.

"You have torn this nation apart to oppose my lord, and never once tried to understand why he is a hero to Ferelden" she said weakly as Elissa stood over her.

"We aren't going to ignore what he's done simply because he's a hero. And you shouldn't have either." Elissa replied coldly before executing Ser Cauthrien with a final blow.

After surveying the havok that they'd caused Daylen decided that it was time to leave. "Not one our more romantic dates but I guess it couldn't be helped." Daylen joked as he caressed Elissa's cheek. She grinned back at him as he led the way outside of the estate.

Before returning to Arl Eamon's, the group decided to pay a visit to both Bann Sighard and Bann Alfstanna at the Gnawed Noble Tavern. Bann Sighard was more than grateful for the rescue of his son and not only offered his support at the Landsmeet, but also a huge sum of sovereigns. Bann Alfstanna was thoroughly outraged by the fact that her brother was being held as a prisoner in a dungeon and promptly departed to liberate him but not before offering her support for both the Landsmeet and reclaiming Highever for the Couslands. She also gifted the party with a few sovereigns and an amulet that was apparently a family heirloom.

Night had fallen when the party finally returned to Arl Eamon's estate. Anora was awaiting them in the arl's study along with Erlina, Arl Eamon and Riordan.

"Why hello your highness! Did you have a pleasant journey? I do hope you managed to avoid any blood splatters during your rather abrupt escape!" Daylen remarked sarcastically as he and the others entered the room.

"I do apologize for my...actions." she replied hesitantly while glancing at Aedan, Elissa and Leliana who had all begun laughing uncontrollably. "It is unfortunate that Ser Cauthrien had to die." she added loudly as she struggled to maintain a dignified tone over the laughs.

"That depends on your perspective." Elissa replied after her laughter subsided.

"Perhaps, but there is much we need to discuss." Anora said seriously.

"In the morning." Daylen replied casually.

"Excuse me?" Anora remarked indignantly.

"We just had a long day your highness and my lady has a number of bruises that require my personal attention." Daylen replied before picking Elissa up and carrying her off from the study as she kissed him.

"I'm standing right here! Do you hear me Daylen?!" Aedan shouted in an irritable tone as he watched his friend proceed down the hall while carrying his sister.

"We hear you just fine brother dear." Daylen replied humorously as he and Elissa disappeared down the hall.

"I'm going to kill him in the morning." Aedan commented while shaking his head in exhaustion. Leliana simply giggled before grabbing his hand and leading him from the study.

"They...they..." Anora was speechless.

"They're the most extraordinary group of young people that I've had the pleasure of knowing." Arl Eamon said while chuckling before having one of the castle servants show Anora to her room.

As Aedan and Leliana headed towards their room, they bumped into Darrian who appeared to be waiting for them. Leliana took one look at the anxious young elf's expression before grinning.

"I'll go ahead, you two should talk." she said pleasantly before disappearing.

After a rather long and awkward silence, Aedan finally spoke. "Is there something you wanted Darrian?"

"Howe...you killed him right?" Darrian asked in the most casual manner he could muster.

"Yeah, of course I did." Aedan replied, clearly confused by Darrian's sudden amiable tone.

"Good. I'm glad that it was one of us...so nice job, I guess." he said before turning around and heading towards his own room.

"What the hell was that all about?" Aedan muttered to himself afterwards before heading off to find Leliana.

"Growing up." Theron replied quietly from the nearby stairwell that he and Neria were occupying as she grinned.


	45. Chapter 45: Home Again

Chapter 45: Home Again

"Leliana, please do us a favor and keep a closer eye on dear Shmooples. I'm not exactly fond of waking up to a nug snoozing between me and my lady." Daylen remarked humorously as the young wardens and their allies began having breakfast in the rather magnificent dining hall of Arl Eamon's Denerim estate.

"I told you we should just eat the damn thing. Give me a few minutes and I can whip up a good sauce to baste the blighter in, then I could-"

"No one is eating Shmooples! And if anything happens to him, you'll be my prime suspect Oghren!" Leliana shouted angrily.

"Of all the gifts to give a woman, a nug, really?" Daylen asked whimsically as he faced Aedan.

"She thought they were cute." Aedan replied plainly after shrugging.

"Well at least try to keep Dog from chasing him into our room." Elissa added sternly as she held Shmooples. "Poor thing." she added soothingly as she stroked the creature's ears.

"He is adorable, isn't he?" Neria commented before joining Elissa in fawning over the creature.

"Thanks a lot Aedan. Now Theron and I are probably going to have to buy a pair of these beasts. I hope you're happy." Daylen said in mock annoyance as the others began laughing.

The entire scene struck Anora as rather strange. For months, both her father and Howe had spent every waking moment of the day plotting how to rid themselves of the 'infamous' young Grey Wardens who managed to survive Ostagar. Wardens who her father considered the greatest threat to Ferelden, to the point of disregarding the darkspawn and allying with the likes of Rendon Howe. But as she watched them all, she couldn't help but feel slightly amused by her father's madness. They were clearly skilled and also fearless, their rescue of her was proof of that, but they were also an unmistakably entertaining bunch to be around.

"So, what exactly are our plans for today?" Theron asked seriously.

"That depends on our dear queen." Daylen responded casually as he looked in Anora's direction.

Anora quickly readjusted her demeanor before addressing the wardens and their friends. "As I mentioned before, we have a great deal to discuss. After we're all finished dining, I suggest we meet in my room to discuss matters further." she replied firmly.

"An invitation to the queen's bed chambers, how scandalous." Daylen joked before being elbowed by Elissa.

"Daylen Amell, you are certainly...not what I expected given what my father said about you and your background." Anora commented as she eyed Daylen.

"I live to disappoint your highness." Daylen replied while grinning.

Anora continued to survey the young mage as he teased Elissa Cousland. "What a strange man." she thought herself.

An hour later, all of the wardens had convened in Anora's room to discuss their next move. "Before we go any further, I'd like to establish our goals right now. I intend to remove my father from power and I assume you do as well?" Anora asked seriously.

"Of course." Daylen replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Good, then that brings us to our next order of business. I intend to remain on the throne and to continue ruling Ferelden just as I did while Cailan was alive." Anora added in a businesslike manner.

The wardens all exchanged uneasy glances with each other before Aedan responded. "Well your highness, that might pose a bit of a problem given the fact that Arl Eamon is throwing his support behind Alistair and so are we for that matter."

"And I'm quite thrilled about it, really." Alistair remarked wryly.

"You can't be serious." Anora replied as she glanced at Alistair. "Alistair is nice and a good man I'm sure, but he has no experience. Not to mention the fact that he obviously has no desire to rule. Once the Blight has been dealt with, Ferelden is going to need capable leadership to rebuild and restore it to its former glory." she added.

"Your highness, I have no doubts about your abilities or experience. We all met Cailan at Ostagar and he seemed like a decent man, but not exactly an able administrator. I have no doubt that it's been your expertise guiding the kingdom for the past few years, but there are other factors to consider here, especially if we want to avert another civil war." Daylen replied earnestly.

"What do you mean?" Elissa asked.

"To many among the nobility, having a descendant of the Theirin bloodline sitting on the throne is of the utmost importance. Arl Eamon is among them and definitely not alone in that belief, I've heard similar sentiments from some of the nobles who are in the city right now." Daylen explained.

"It's true, to many having a Theirin sitting on the throne is the only thing that matters, regardless of their ability to rule." Anora added before taking another glance at Alistair.

"So, how exactly do we handle this?" Aedan asked.

"Compromise of course." Daylen replied casually. "Anora and Alistair should get married." he added dully.

"What?!" Alistair sputtered. "You...you can't be serious." he added, completely dumfounded.

"I share Alistair's sentiments. He looks almost exactly like Cailan, this is too...are you serious?" Anora asked in an equally stunned tone.

"Yeah, I am. If the two of you get married then all parties get what they want. Anora gets to remain in power and Ferelden will benefit from her knowledge and experience. Alistair being king will also satisfy everyone who wants a Theirin on the throne and I daresay he may actually surprise her highness with his abilities as a leader." Daylen explained confidently.

"I must admit, you make some very valid points. So am I to understand that if I agree to this, you'll support me in the Landsmeet?" Anora asked calmly.

"Of course and your highness can return the favor for us." Daylen replied.

"Hang on a minute Daylen! Y-You can't just up and decide something like this without consulting me first!" Alistair stammered.

"Fine, you're right. Alistair, would you be willing to marry a beautiful, drop dead gorgeous queen for the sake of averting a civil war and ensuring the future stability of the country you now reside in?" Daylen asked casually.

"I...y-you." he began. "Are you all really okay with this?" he asked as he turned to his other friends.

"It sounds reasonable to me." Aedan replied coolly.

"It will prevent any further bloodshed." Elissa remarked. "So, you think she's 'beautiful' and 'drop dead gorgeous' do you?" Elissa added as she stared at Daylen who'd begun whistling in a seemingly carefree manner.

"We realize that this is no small matter Alistair, but a great deal of strife can be avoided by this course of action." Theron commented calmly.

"We won't force the issue if you're really against it, but what Daylen and Theron said is true." Neria added hesitantly.

"I know you and for what it's worth, I trust you. I can't say the same for her 'majesty' so make what you want of that." Darrian said tersely.

As Alistair surveyed all of his friends, he couldn't help but wonder what Duran and Natia would have to say about the situation. What would Duran do? That's when he realized that it wasn't Duran's decision or anyone else's but his own. Daylen had sprung this on him out of nowhere but he'd likely been planning it for awhile. Daylen always had a scheme going after all. It had been the same way for Duran back in Orzammar but he'd also given him the choice to refuse. And now Alistair was faced with that same decision, the same choice.

"Alright. I'm still not convinced that I'm cut out to be a king, but I'll put everything I have into it." Alistair finally said resolutely.

"That's the spirit your highness!" Daylen joked before turning to Anora. "So are we all in agreement?" he added.

"Yes, I believe we have an accord." she replied. "Daylen Amell, you appear to be a man who's full of surprises." she added in a curious tone.

"Not really, I'm just a guy who can do a bit of magic." Daylen replied nonchalantly.

"So what else did your highness wish to discuss?" Elissa asked loudly, eager to cut in.

"It has come to my attention that there is unrest in the alienage and I can't help but wonder if my father is involved. There weren't many elves sent to Ostagar, so they shouldn't have the same grievances as others in the city who lost loved ones in that awful battle." Anora explained.

"Of course! What could they possibly be upset about! Certainly not a purge led by an asshole appointed by your scumbag father!" Darrian replied in an angry and sarcastic tone.

"Whatever crimes Howe committed were his own doing. But it is true that my father's complicity can't be ignored." Anora said quietly.

"Why has Loghain done all of this? He's nearly destroyed the very country that he's supposed to love." Elissa remarked angrily.

"Paranoia." Daylen replied seriously.

"What do you mean?" Aedan asked.

"He probably thinks we're pawns of the Orlesians. You remember how he reacted when Cailan mentioned allowing Orlesian wardens into the country to help fight the Blight. He's so obsessed with keeping Ferelden safe from Orlais that he's left it even more vulnerable to the darkspawn." Daylen explained.

"I'm afraid it's true. My father has been gripped with a paranoia so powerful that he sees himself as Ferelden's only hope against a crisis that he himself helped to engineer." Anora added sadly.

"What a fool." Darrian said bitterly before the others fell silent.

"Alright. We have to figure out what's happening in the alienage and given what's happened, I imagine that it'll be an even more hostile place to outsiders than usual. Darrian, Theron, Neria, I want you guys to take Zevran and find out what 's going on. I have a few gifts to give you before you go, so wait for me in the entrance hall." Daylen finally said before he and the others began dispersing.

Sometime later, Darrian and the others found themselves waiting for Daylen near the front entrance of the arl's estate.

"Sorry for the wait." Daylen said apologetically as he approached from the stairs. "I stopped at the warehouse and raided the vault that Riordan mentioned."

"Was anything useful left?" Darrian asked.

"A few items of note, the most important thing was Duncan's shield. I decided to let Alistair hold onto it." Daylen explained. They all understood why, Duncan had been like a father to Alistair.

"I do have a few things for you Darrian." he added before presenting the young elf with a light armor chest piece known as the Felon's Coat along with a set of gloves, the Red Jenny Seekers. He also handed him a pair of boots, the Silverhammer's Tackmasters. All of the items were rare and exceptionally powerful.

"Where did you-" Darrian began.

"Did you really think I'd skip your turn to get a set of badass gear?" Daylen joked. "I bought the Felon's Coat from Wade's before I got banned. The Red Jenny Seekers were the final payment from Ignacio and I bought the boots from Bodahn ages ago. I know you'd probably prefer elven made stuff, but Theron's already sporting the ancient elven armor and it suits him. So just bear with me and use these instead."

"Thanks, Daylen." Darrian replied appreciatively.

"I'm still working on finding you an appropriate dagger that'll compliment the Green Blade. For now, what you have should do." Daylen added as he surveyed Darrian's armaments.

Darrian quickly equipped the new items as Daylen presented Zevran with a pair of high quality Crow Daggers before they both laughed at the irony.

"I want you all to be careful, if Loghain or Howe had a hand in whatever's going on in the alienage then I'm sure it'll be dangerous. If it ends up being too big to handle on your own, don't hesitate to return for some backup." Daylen said seriously as he faced them all.

"We can handle this Daylen." Darrian replied confidently.

"He's right Daylen, this won't be the first time we've faced an unknown danger." Neria added.

"We will be fine, you have my word." Theron said calmly.

"Daylen, you worry too much. I will be with them, what better assurance do you need?" Zevran said charmingly.

"Right...like I said, we'll all be here if you need us." Daylen replied before bidding them farewell.

Not long afterwards, Darrian and the others found themselves inside the familiar setting of the Denerim alienage.

"I didn't honestly think I'd ever see this place again." Darrian commented as they made their way inside.

"I'm sorry it couldn't have been under better circumstances, Darrian." Neria said gently.

"Especially after that disaster that befell your wedding." Theron added regretfully.

"Wedding?! How is it that I haven't heard this story?" Zevran asked eagerly.

"Not now Zevran. It was...not a pleasant experience for anyone involved." Theron replied seriously.

"I see...perhaps Darrian can enlighten me later after he has been sufficiently 'relaxed' by the Pearl's many distractions." Zevran remarked in a mischievous tone.

As they made their way further into the alienage, Darrian decided to pay a visit to his home where he hoped to find his father. After entering the modest dwelling, they were all surprised to discover his cousin, Soris instead.

"Soris?!" Darrian exclaimed.

"Darrian?! I can't believe it!" Soris replied, seemingly stunned by his cousin's arrival. They quickly embraced before parting as each surveyed the other. "We all assumed the worst after we heard about Ostagar. Shianni has been a wreck and now with this quarantine...Darrian you should go and see her, things have gotten pretty bad."

"What do you mean? What quarantine? And where's Father?" Darrian asked desperately.

"Awhile ago, an illness started to spread across the alienage. Tevinter healers have been treating it but the people that they put into quarantine have been disappearing, including Cyrion and Valora." Soris explained.

"Dammit, not again! Wait a minute, mages from Tevinter? Why the hell would anyone agree to this?" Darrian asked angrily.

"Everyone was afraid and desperate. No one was willing to turn away help that was being offered for free, especially after what happened, you know before." Soris replied hesitantly.

Neria knew that he was referring to the last time an illness swept through the alienage, Darrian had told her about it before and how it had led to his mother dying. "I can't believe that the Chantry would allow Tevinter mages into the city, there's still a lot of hostility between them and the Imperium." she said cautiously.

"Someone else could have allowed them inside. Someone who has experience undermining the Chantry's authority." Theron commented darkly.

"Loghain!" Darrian muttered angrily. "Alright, we're going to get to the bottom of this. I'll find Father and Valora, so don't worry Soris." Darrian said reassuringly before leading the others back outside.

"So, we will likely be battling Tevinter Magisters? Lovely." Zevran mused.

"Daylen is going to be pretty upset if he finds out, he'd definitely insist on handling this himself." Neria said quietly.

"True, we all know how he feels about us fighting blood mages without him and I've heard that all of the Magisters of Tevinter dabble in blood magic." Theron added seriously.

"Well, we don't have time to run back and get him. Besides, I need to handle this myself." Darrian replied resolutely.

As they approached the makeshift hospice that the Tevinter mages were using to quarantine people, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a rather vocal Shianni who was trying to persuade the residents to stay away.

"Some things never change." Darrian said as he approached the spirited young woman with a smile on his face.

"Darrian!" Shianni shouted as she leapt into his arms. They held each other for quite awhile before finally parting. "Do you have any idea what we've all been through?" she finally asked sadly.

"Well, Soris mentioned this quarantine business but-"

"Not that! You...we all thought you'd died at Ostagar. Do you have any idea what that did to us, to Cyrion, to me?" she asked as tears started to fill her eyes.

"Shianni, I'm sorry." Darrian said gently before embracing her once more. "A lot of things happened and I really wish I could've contacted you somehow, but I'm here now." he added quietly.

After awhile, Zevran decided to clear his throat. "Would you care to introduce us to your lovely friend?"

Darrian parted with Shianni rather hastily before responding. "Shianni, you remember Neria and Theron." he said as they exchanged greetings. "This is Zevran. Under no circumstances are you to be alone with him, in fact don't even talk to him." he added sternly.

Both Theron and Neria laughed as Zevran feigned indignance. "Darrian how cold and after everything we've been through together. If it weren't for me, you would have never worked up the nerve to indulge in the pleasures of a brot-"

"Shut it assassin!" Darrian cut in angrily.

"Not to mention the fact that you'd still be sulking over-"

"Dammit, shut up!" Darrian cut in again, this time with a small note of embarrassment in his voice.

Zevran simply grinned as Theron shook his head while Neria appeared to be confused by the whole exchange.

"I'm guessing your new friend can tell me a lot of stories about what you've been up to." Shianni remarked as she looked at Darrian with a mischievous grin.

"Never mind him! What's the situation with these Tevinter mages?" Darrian asked impatiently.

"They claim they're here to help us. But more and more people are disappearing. Now Valendrian has disappeared too and they're refusing to let anyone inside the hospice to see what's going on." Shianni explained seriously.

"Then it's a good thing I wasn't planning on asking." Darrian said before proceeding towards the mages standing outside the hospice.

"Shianni, it would be wise for you and the others in the area to evacuate to a safe distance." Theron added calmly as he readied his bow.

"Yes my dear. Our young friend has a habit of causing commotions and this will likely turn into a rather bloody exchange." Zevran remarked casually before drawing his daggers.

"Sorry..." Neria added apologetically before activating her combat magic and drawing her sword and shield.

Shianni quickly did what she could to disperse the crowd as Darrian approached the mages who were accompanied by several Tevinter soldiers. "You're in my way." Darrian said coldly as he faced the men.

"No one gets in-"

Before the mage could finish, Darrian unleashed a string of pinpoint strikes that instantly killed him. Darrian then adopted his dueling stance as the soldiers attacked and the other mage prepared to blast Darrian with a shock spell. Unfortunately for the mage, Theron's marksmanship was as superb as ever and one well aimed critical shot was all it took to end him. Darrian himself killed a pair of soldiers who'd attempted to surround him but quickly discovered that they couldn't seem to hit him. His training in dueling had definitely paid off and he was eager to put it to good use while he dealt with the Tevinters.

After Zevran and Neria cut down the last of the soldiers, Shianni returned. "I see being a warden hasn't tamed you. I hope no one inside gets hurt because of this." she said in an exasperated tone as she faced Darrian.

"Good point, we should hurry and pay our friends inside a visit." Darrian replied before leading the others inside the hospice.

Inside they encountered several more Tevinter soldiers who they promptly slaughtered. Afterwards they discovered a small group of elves who were being held prisoner in a cage in the back of the room. They quickly freed the captives and examined a nearby desk where they found an odd note, a key and a small sum of sovereigns. The note appeared to be a cryptic request for people of a certain age and gender.

"Dammit! I knew this was a setup!" Darrian shouted angrily.

"We must put an end to this before it's too late." Theron added seriously.

"Let's hurry!" Neria said urgently.

Shianni was awaiting them outside the hospice with a panicked look on her face. "What happened? What did you find? A crowd just ran outside and they looked terrified."

"It appears that the Tevinters are shipping people and concealing the operation as a 'quarantine' to avoid detection." Theron replied as he eyes flashed with anger.

"There's no way this hospice was housing their whole operation. Shianni we're going to check the tenements in the back. Go find somewhere safe to hide while we deal with this." Darrian added angrily.

"Darrian, I expect to see you again once this is all over. Do you understand?" Shianni said as she faced the young elf.

"You always do, don't you?" Darrian replied confidently.

He took a few moments to watch as she departed before leading the way into the apartments in the rear of the alienage. Inside the party quickly observed evidence that indicated that the residents had been rather abruptly removed from their homes. Their suspicions were confirmed by a panicked and near hysterical resident who quickly fled after being questioned. The group proceeded to the rear of the building where they used the key from the hospice to unlock a door that led into an alley. Outside, they encountered yet another Tevinter soldier who quickly sounded an alarm that summoned half a dozen more of his comrades.

Theron proceeded to decimate half of the opposition with a shattering shot followed by a string of rapid shots while Darrian finished off the rest with a flurry of duel strikes and ripostes. Afterwards they all proceeded to the building that the soldiers appeared to be guarding. After entering they were surprised to meet a young elven woman who appeared to be leading the operation.

"What the hell?! You're an elf?!" Darrian said indignantly.

"And what of it. Do you expect me to feel some sort of kinship with this rabble?" the woman replied coldly.

"Apparently not. Speaking with her is a waste of time. She can join her fellows." Theron said calmly before quickly executing three members of the woman's entourage with a flurry of rapid shots.

Darrian, Neria and Zevran quickly engaged the other soldiers while Theron engaged the mystery woman in a battle of marksmanship as she returned fire with her own bow. Theron effortlessly countered her shots before firing an arrow of slaying that promptly killed her. After the battle Darrian observed the dead woman's corpse while shaking his head.

"Cruelty can come from anywhere, right?" he remarked as Theron approached.

"Yes, but so can compassion." Theron replied as he placed a hand on Darrian's shoulder.

Afterwards they all proceeded further into the building where they encountered several more groups of Tevinter soldiers who quickly fell before them. They eventually reached a warehouse area where a Tevinter Magister awaited them.

"Everyone be careful." Neria whispered cautiously.

Darrian quickly took notice of his father and Valendrian who were both being held in a cage that also held many more elves of the alienage.

"Greetings wardens, I am Caladrius-"

Neither Darrian nor Theron gave the man a chance to finish his introduction as they commenced their attack. Theron released a volley of rapid shots that quickly decimated several of the soldiers who surrounded Caladrius as Darrian closed in on Caladrius.

"Darrian, we'll deal with his soldiers so that he can't use them for any blood magic but be careful!" Neria shouted as she cut down two advancing enemies.

Caladrius quickly summoned a blizzard that engulfed the entire area. Neria quickly raised a spell shield to protect herself and several glyphs of neutralization to protect the others. They weren't mages, so the effects would only act as safeguards for them as long as they remained within the glyphs. Darrian quietly thanked Neria as he began his assault against Caladrius.

He immediately switched to his dueling stance and released a barrage of pinpoint strikes against Caladrius who was nearly torn to shreds. The magister countered with a cone of cold spell that simply dissipated as it made contact with Neria's glyph. Caladrius quickly grew panicked and scanned the area for a soldier that he could sacrifice to heal himself but they'd all been slain, that's when he noticed the elves. As if reading his mind, Darrian stepped outside the glyph just as the Blizzard faded and hit the magister with a brutal punisher combo that left him utterly defeated.

Afterwards, Darrian stood over the beaten blood mage as the others approached. "It would seem you live up to your reputations, perhaps-"

Darrian didn't give the Magister a chance to bargain before executing him with a string of duel strikes that instantly killed him. He then checked his body and discovered a bundle of documents that bore Loghain's seal and authorized the removal of elves from the alienage, proof that the Regent was involved in the slave operation.

"Well, at least we managed to put a stop to it and we have evidence to use against him in the Landsmeet." Neria said quietly.

"But how many people did they manage to ship before we got here?" Darrian asked bitterly.

"At least your father and Valendrian are safe. I think it's time you went to see them." Theron added as he pointed to the cages where the captives were being held.

After freeing everyone, both Valendrian and Cyrion, Darrian's father, faced him. "Darrian, right now I couldn't be more glad to see you." Valendrian commented as he observed the young man fondly.

"That makes two of us son. I'm eager to be rid of this place, but I want you to pay me a visit before you leave. We have a lot of catching up to do." Cyrion said happily before leaving the warehouse with Valendrian.

After looting a nearby chest and gaining a rather large sum of sovereigns that were no doubt profits from the slave operation, Darrian made one last sweep of the warehouse in the hopes of finding Valora, Soris' bride. After the search proved futile, he led the others back to his home in the alienage where he delivered the news to Soris who was quite somber afterwards. Darrian then spent the next hour filling his father in on all of his adventures since the tragedy that was Ostagar and telling him about his friends in the wardens. The old man seemed rather happy as he listened to his son's stories and was more than a little reluctant to see him leave when he eventually prepared to do so.

"Hang on son. There's something I think you should have, it belonged to your mother and I think it's time you took it." Cyrion said before disappearing from the room and returning a few moments later with a rather unique looking dagger. It appeared to be elvish in design and there were several powerful enchantments on it from what Neria could tell. "It's called Fang and it should serve you well in your battles to come." Cyrion added.

"Father, thanks. I'll try to visit again when I can, I promise." Darrian said gratefully, before hugging Cyrion.

"You've grown a lot since you've been away. Your friends' influence no doubt." Cyrion said as he glanced at Theron, Neria and Zevran.

"You're probably right, I've learned a great deal from a lot of amazing people." Darrian replied warmly before separating from his father. "Well, we should get going. There's a Landsmeet we need to get to and a bastard we need to expose." he added cheerfully.

Cyrion nodded as Darrian and the others made their way outside where Shianni awaited them. "I certainly hope you weren't planning to leave without saying goodbye." she said in an annoyed tone.

"I was going to find you before we left! Honest!" Darrian replied defensively.

"So how long until we see you again this time?" she asked quietly.

"If I visit too much you'll get sick of me." Darrian joked.

When Shianni didn't laugh he approached her and gave her a hug. "Not long, I promise." he whispered as she returned the hug. Afterwards, he and the others began making their way to the exit of the alienage.

"Sometimes you manage to surprise me Darrian." Zevran remarked in an offhand tone.

"What do you mean?" Darrian asked curiously.

"Under rare circumstances, you actually manage to say the right things to soothe a woman's heart. A pity you remain clueless when it comes to their feelings." Zevran replied casually.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Darrian asked angrily.

"Nothing at all, my dull-witted friend" Zevran replied while grinning as Darrian scowled at him.

Theron and Neria simply smiled as they all made their way into the market district. Very soon they'd all be facing the man who'd spent nearly a year trying to kill them and they were all looking forward to it.


	46. Chapter 46: The Fall of a Hero

Chapter 46: The Fall of a Hero

As the young wardens made their way into the royal palace where the Landsmeet was taking place, they discovered that Arl Eamon and Teyrn Loghain were engaged in a rather heated debate, and were immediately welcomed by Loghain's accusatory tone.

"And here we have the puppeteers. Tell us wardens, how will the Orlesians take our nation from us? Will they bother sending troops or will they simply issue their commands through this would be prince?" Loghain remarked scathingly as he faced Alistair.

"Really, Loghain? You're still fixated on imaginary Orlesian invasions while the kingdom crumbles under a Blight. The darkspawn are the real threat here and the only one at the moment, unless we count you." Daylen replied cynically as he stared down Loghain.

"The south has fallen Loghain, will you let the darkspawn take the whole country for fear of Orlais?" Arl Wulff remarked angrily.

"The Blight is indeed real Wulff, but do we really need wardens to fight it? They claim that only they can stop it, but they failed spectacularly at Ostagar." Loghain replied.

A wave of rage swept across the entire group of wardens upon hearing these words, at no point had any of them wanted to kill Loghain more than in that moment. As angry as he was, Daylen managed to keep his composure. "Alright, Loghain. If that's how you want to play it." he thought to himself.

"And exactly what have you done to face the Blight lately aside from kidnapping and torture? Or was allowing Rendon Howe to imprison and brutalize nobles a part of some secret plan that you and your former appointee hatched that the rest of us simply weren't preview to." Daylen said mockingly.

"What the warden says is true! My son was taken under the cover of night, the things done to him...some are beyond any healers skill to mend!" Bann Sighard shouted before a shocked and appalled audience.

"Howe was responsible for himself and he will answer to the maker for any wrongs he committed, but you already know that, you were ones who murdered him. Whatever crimes he may have committed, he should have been brought before the seneschal. There is no justice in butchering a man in his own home." Loghain replied.

Both Aedan and Elissa were shaking with fury as they glared at Loghain, if this continued much longer, one of Daylen's friends would undoubtedly snap.

"So tell me Loghain, is there justice in sending a blood mage to assassinate Arl Eamon? I figured I'd ask you given the fact that you made such an attempt." Daylen remarked coldly as he continued to face Loghain.

"I can assure you warden, if I were to send someone, it would be my own soldiers. I would not trust such an endeavor to an apostate." Loghain replied.

"Indeed? My brother tells a far different tale. He says that you snatched a blood mage from the Chantry's justice. Coincidence?" Bann Alfstanna remarked in an accusatory manner.

"That woman is something else, I'll definitely give her that. Cute too." Daylen thought to himself as he surveyed Loghain who was once again on the defensive.

"Do not think that the Chantry will overlook this Teyrn Loghain. Interference in a templar's sacred duties is an offense against the maker." the revered mother added sternly as she glared at Loghain.

"Whatever I have done, I will answer for later. Right now, I wish to know what these wardens have done to my daughter." Loghain replied seriously as he faced Daylen and the others.

"You mean besides protect her from you and your former flunkies. Not much really, I have to admit she's surprisingly skilled at Wicked Grace." Daylen replied casually as he stared at Loghain.

"You took my daughter, our queen, by force killing her guards in the process. What arts have you employed to keep her? Does she even still live?" Loghain asked angrily.

"I believe I can speak for myself." Anora announced as she entered the hall. "Lords and ladies of Ferelden, hear me. My father is no longer the man you know. This man is not the hero of River Dane. This man turned his troops aside and refused to protect your king as he fought bravely against the darkspawn. This man seized Cailan's throne before his body was cold and locked me away so I could not reveal his treachery. I would have already been killed, if not for these Grey Wardens." she stated before a rather stunned group of nobles.

"I believe her highness has summed up things rather eloquently." Daylen mused as he continued to eye Loghain.

"So the wardens' influence has poisoned even your mind Anora? I wanted to protect you from this." Loghain lamented before turning his attention to the gathered nobles who would very soon be deciding who to support. "My lords and ladies, our land has been threatened before. It's been invaded, and lost and won times beyond counting. We Fereldens have proven that we will never truly be conquered as long as we are united. We must not be divided now. Stand with me and we shall defeat the Blight itself."

"South Reach stands with the Grey Wardens." Arl Bryland announced.

"The wardens helped me personally in a family matter, they have my support." an unidentified noble added.

"Huh? I guess Ignacio wasn't just screwing with us." Daylen thought to himself as he glanced at the mystery man.

"Waking Sea stands with the wardens!" Bann Alfstanna shouted afterwards.

"A man could really grow to appreciate that woman." Daylen thought to himself as looked up at the young woman who'd just added her support.

"Dragon's Peak supports the wardens!" Bann Sighard added loudly.

"The Western Hills throw their lot in with the wardens. Maker help us." Arl Wulff announced gruffly.

"I stand by Loghain! We've no hope of victory otherwise!" Bann Ceorlic of the Southern Bannorn shouted.

"Well, you can't win over everyone." Daylen thought to himself. "Still, what a bitch." he muttered under his breath.

One dissenting coward hardly made a difference as every other noble began to voice their support of the wardens. As the Landsmeet rallied around them, Daylen and the others couldn't help but stare at Loghain smugly as he bore witness to his own defeat.

"You lose old man, now do us all a favor and bow out gracefully." Daylen said in a self-satisfied tone as he faced Loghain.

"Traitors! Which of you stood against the Orlesian emperor when his troops flattened your fields and raped your wives?" he yelled angrily as if denouncing the entire Landsmeet. "You fought with us once Eamon. You cared about this land once. Before you got too old and fat and content to see what you risk. None of you deserve a say in what happens here! None of you have spilled blood for this land the way I have! How dare you judge me!" he added bitterly.

"How the mighty have fallen." Daylen commented sarcastically as he observed Loghain's tirade.

"This is just pathetic." Aedan added as he stared at Loghain's resentful visage.

"Agreed, it's time we put an end to this." Daylen replied before turning his attention to Loghain. "If you're that determined Loghain, why don't we settle this one on one? The great hero of Dane against one of us lowly Grey Wardens. What do you say?"

"Then let us settle this." he replied coldly.

Afterwards, there was an immediate outburst of eager offers among the young wardens in regards to who would get to battle Loghain.

"Let me fight the bastard! I still owe him for what Howe did!" Aedan said eagerly.

"You got to kill Howe, Loghain is mine!" Elissa shouted.

"I owe this bastard for what he did to the alienage!" Darrian said angrily.

"I have no complaints against facing him myself." Theron added calmly.

"He's done so many terrible things. Daylen, please let me fight him?" Neria pleaded.

"I intend to make him pay for what he did to Duncan." Alistair added coldly.

"That's enough, all of you." Daylen finally said as he faced his friends. "I'll deal with him." he added and the certainty in his voice quickly silenced everyone. He then turned and made his way towards Loghain.

"I suppose we both knew it would come to this. When we first met at Ostagar, I would never have thought so. But Ostagar seems like it happened in another lifetime, to someone else." Loghain remarked quietly.

"Maybe to you, but each us will carry the events of that massacre around for the rest of our lives. But I suppose it's far easier for a man who wasn't there to pretend otherwise." Daylen replied bitterly.

Loghain took a moment to observe Daylen. "A man is made by the quality of his enemies. Maric told me that once. I wonder if it's more a compliment to you or me. Enough. Let the Landsmeet declare the terms of the duel." he said impatiently.

"It shall be fought according to tradition, a test in single combat until one party yields and we who are assembled here will abide by the outcome." Bann Alfstanna declared.

Loghain and Daylen then faced off, carefully circling each other as each glared at the other. Eventually Loghain drew his sword and readied his shield. "Good, you're ready. So am I and I'm not holding back." Daylen thought to himself before quickly blasting his opponent with a stonefist spell that sent him flying across the chamber. Before Loghain could recover Daylen transformed into a bereskarn and released his rage. He then closed in on Loghain and overwhelmed him. As he viciously attacked the teyrn, Daylen was careful not to tear him apart or kill him. He wanted to make sure that the bastard survived their fight so that he and the others could pass proper judgment on him. After shattering nearly every bone in Loghain's body and leaving him a battered and bloody mess, Daylen tossed his broken form into the center of the chamber before reverting to human form.

"I underestimated you wardens. I thought you were all like Cailan, children wanting to play at war. I was wrong. There's a strength in you that I haven't seen anywhere since Maric died. I yield." Loghain said hoarsely as he stared up at Daylen who was now standing over him.

Daylen quickly grabbed the teyrn by the collar and pulled his head from the floor before punching him as hard as he could. He continued to rain blows upon the man as his friends observed contently. Daylen intended to strike him for every life lost at Ostagar, Redcliffe and the Circle's Tower. For every warden supporter who mysteriously disappeared and for every one of Howe's victims. And of course for rewarding a monster who'd nearly destroyed everything that was important to the woman he loved and his best friend. Daylen lost track of how long he'd pummeled Loghain but he had no intention of stopping, eventually Anora's screams brought him back to his senses.

"That's enough! He has surrendered!" she shouted hysterically.

Daylen stopped just short of striking the teyrn a final time and finally released him before standing and surveying the utterly destroyed form of Teyrn Loghain. His face was a bruised and bloodied mess and Daylen couldn't begin to be more satisfied.

"It'll never be enough." Daylen replied coldly before charging his hands with electricity as he prepared to end Loghain's life while his friends nodded their approval.

"Wait!" Riordan shouted as he entered the chamber. "There is another option!" he exclaimed as he approached the scene. "The teyrn is a warrior and general of renown. Let him be of use. Let him go through the Joining."

"Hell no." Daylen replied without hesitation.

"Daylen, listen to me. There are too few of us. It's not a matter of what we LIKE, it's a matter of what we MUST DO. Our duty is to slay the Archdemon. We aren't judges. Kinslayers, blood mages, traitors, rebels, carta thugs, common bandits, anyone with the skill and the mettle to take up the sword against the darkspawn is welcome among us." Riordan explained. "There are ten of us in all of Ferelden. And there are compelling reasons to have as many wardens on hand as possible to deal with the Archdemon." he continued.

"The Joining itself is often fatal, is it not? If he survives, you gain a general. If not, you have your revenge. Doesn't that satisfy you?" Anora asked, her desperation to possibly save her father was clearly evident.

"Absolutely not! Riordan, this man abandoned our brothers and then blamed us for the deed! He hunted us down like animals. He tortured you! How can we simply forget that?" Alistair remarked angrily.

"Alistair is right. This bastard doesn't deserve a chance at redemption. He gave that that asshole Howe free reign to do as he pleased." Aedan added bitterly.

"He cut a deal with Tevinter slavers to sell my people. I'll be damned if I'm going to call this piece of shit brother!" Darrian yelled, completely consumed in fury.

"How many people suffered and died because of the alliances he made with people who were completely heinous? Uldred and Howe were responsible for some of the worst atrocities that we've had to endure and witness. I'm sorry...I can't, I just can't." Neria said quietly.

"I will NEVER acknowledge this man as an ally." Theron added resolutely.

"And there you have it." Elissa said calmly as she stared down at the broken form of Loghain with a look of pure contempt.

"You can't do this, my father may have been guilty of his crimes but he is still a hero of the people!" Anora pleaded.

"Anora, hush, it's over." Loghain said softly.

"Stop treating me like a child. This is serious." Anora replied.

"Daughters never grow up, Anora. They remain six years old with pigtails and skinned knees forever." Loghain added quietly.

"Father-"

"Just make it quick Daylen Amell. I can face the maker knowing that Ferelden is in the hands of you and your friends." Loghain said resolutely.

As Riordan observed the scene, he quickly realized that any further attempts to persuade the young wardens would prove to be futile. They had suffered because of Loghain's actions, but still endured and even thrived. But as dedicated as they were to ending the Blight and slaying the Archdemon, this was the one compromise they simply couldn't make. As they all faced Daylen, they quietly gave him their approval to finish things. Daylen reacted by blasting Loghain with the most powerful shock spell he'd ever conjured, finally putting an end to the man who'd caused them no short amount of grief.

Anora broke into tears instantly while several onlookers appeared to be stunned by the ruthlessness of the execution. Several minutes later, the commotion finally died down as the queen composed herself and Arl Eamon approached.

"It is my understanding that Alistair and Anora are to wed and rule jointly. Is this still the case?" the arl asked.

"Yes, assuming my husband to be hasn't changed his mind." Anora replied.

The wardens all looked to Alistair who quickly responded. "That's the plan Arl Eamon." he replied before facing the other nobles in the hall. "Lords and ladies of the Landsmeet, I will be honored to be your king, but I have an obligation the wardens. I intend to fight alongside my brothers as we lead Ferelden to victory against the darkspawn. It's time we made my brother Cailan's dream a reality!" he announced.

"And I shall act as an administrator for my future husband's kingdom just as I did for Cailan." Anora added.

"I also intend to have my fellow wardens act as leaders for our armies just as Loghain did for my father." Alistair declared before facing his friends who nodded their approval. "Together we will see an end to this Blight!" he shouted as the entire Landsmeet rallied around him.

Later, back at Arl Eamon's estate, the young wardens were still coming to terms with the events of the day while relaxing in one of the guestrooms.

"I still can't believe it's finally done. The only enemy for us to face now is the Blight." Elissa said seriously.

"The way it should be." Theron added calmly.

"I hope we're ready." Neria said quietly.

"Ready or not, we'll be facing things head on now." Aedan replied.

"We've done everything we possibly could to prepare for this Neria. I've supplied the emissaries from the Circle, Redcliffe, the Dalish and Orzammar with all of the supplies they could've asked for, so the armies will definitely be well armed." Daylen added firmly.

"You've also got us well equipped." Darrian said proudly.

Suddenly, Alistair entered looking quite stressed. "Honestly, I've haven't even been king for a day yet and I'm already exhausted." he said in an exasperated tone. "By the way, thanks again." he added sarcastically as he faced Daylen.

"You're quite welcome your majesty. If you ever need anything else, don't hesitate to call." Daylen joked.

The others laughed before the room fell silent once more. "Let's go, we should return to Redcliffe. It's time for us to finish this." Daylen finally said before leading the way out of the guestroom. Very soon, their battle was going to reach its conclusion and they were all going to have to be ready.


	47. Chapter 47: The Ritual

Chapter 47: The Ritual

"Ogre!" Daylen yelled after destroying another wave of genlocks with a fireball.

"I'm on it!" Aedan responded as he cut his way through a pair of hurlocks and closed in on the giant monstrosity. The beast immediately tried to grab him, but Aedan was quick to evade and severed the tendons in the creature's heels, bringing it to its knees. Afterwards, he leapt onto the fiend's torso and planted his sword into its skull.

The young wardens had returned to Redcliffe only moments earlier to find the village being attacked by darkspawn forces. Fortunately, the villagers had already been evacuated to the castle. Daylen and the others had taken it upon themselves to clear the village before the creatures could join their fellows who were already attacking the castle.

"We should get to the castle. Their defenses may not hold if the force attacking them is anything like this one." Theron said urgently after killing a final group of hurlocks with a flurry of arrows.

"Agreed. Let's move!" Daylen shouted before leading the way to the castle.

They arrived to find several castle guards battling a horde of hurlocks. The wardens quickly lent their assistance before enemy reinforcements could arrive. After wiping out the opposition, Daylen was eager to check the status of the castle.

"What's the situation here? Did any of these bastards manage to fight their way in?" he quickly asked one of the guards.

"A few, but we were able to slay the beasts and prevent anymore from getting inside. Oh maker!" the guard exclaimed as he pointed in the direction of the castle gates.

Daylen turned to find an even larger force of darkspawn closing in on the courtyard. "I hope you're all ready for this!" he yelled.

"Always!" Elissa replied eagerly as she readied her swords.

Moments later, chaos erupted on the castle grounds as hurlocks flooded through the now destroyed gates as the wardens and their allies began engaging them. There appeared to be no end to the beasts as Daylen burned and blasted his way through dozens of the fiends. He wasn't the only one to wrack up a rather staggering body count. Elissa had destroyed just as many or perhaps more darkspawn than he had and Oghren wasn't far behind. The drunken berserker was mowing down as many of the intruders as he could as they poured in through the gate while Theron covered him with an endless firing of arrows that decimated any stragglers who managed to avoid Oghrens onslaught.

Aedan and Alistair were both protecting the stairs of the castle while Leliana provided cover with her bow and a bit of encouragement with her songs. The others were fighting in various skirmishes all across the courtyard, but were holding their ground. Eventually the attack seemed to subside and after killing what appeared to be the final wave of hurlocks with a shock spell, Daylen and the others took a moment to get their bearings.

"There's no end to them!" Neria said breathlessly.

"Good, I haven't even broken a sweat yet." Oghren replied.

"We should be cautious, I am sure that the darkspawn are far from finished." Wynne added wisely.

"Tell me, is stating the obvious part of the responsibilities of a senior enchanter in the Circle?" Morrigan asked mockingly as Wynne glared at her.

"How many more of them could there be?" Darrian asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I don't know, but we can't afford to let the castle fall." Aedan replied.

"We only need to hold out until the armies get here." Daylen said.

"No rush then?" Elissa remarked sarcastically.

"You're starting to sound more and more like Daylen, you know?" Aedan teased.

"What can I say? I have an infectious personality." Daylen joked. "And once this is all over I intend to spend even more time rubbing off on her." he added in a seductive tone.

"So help me Daylen, I'm standing right here!" Aedan replied indignantly while Elissa smiled and several of the others laughed.

Suddenly a blood curdling roar shattered their moment of peace as an ogre alpha stomped into the courtyard accompanied by an even larger horde of hurlocks. "Damn! We can't let them breach the castle!" Daylen shouted before transforming into a bereskarn and leading the charge against the new wave of enemies. The party had to stop the ogre from progressing any further, but the hurlocks were making their attempts at stopping the beast quite futile. Their sheer numbers made it practically impossible to approach the ogre, who was marching ever closer to the castle. As it neared the steps, a very familiar voice broke through the sounds of battle.

"Clear a path and backup the wardens!" Duran yelled as he and several Legion of the Dead warriors plowed through the rear of the darkspawn lines. Natia wasn't far behind with what appeared to be several casteless rogues who immediately tossed several firebombs into the hurlock masses.

Duran himself bolted towards the ogre alpha after releasing a war cry that blasted a number of darkspawn of their feet where the rogues were quick to take advantage with a string of swift and ruthless throat slashes. After reaching the horned giant, Duran buried his war ax into the beast's heel, bringing it down to one knee as it roared in pain. He then sliced into the fiend's other heel, forcing the creature to fall head first into the ground where he quickly cleaved its skull. Afterwards, he joined his men and the others in the battle against what remained of the darkspawn. It didn't take long for the combined forces of the wardens and their allies to wipe out what remained of the darkspawn incursion.

"So, did you miss us?" Natia remarked cheerfully as both Elissa and Neria immediately approached and hugged her.

"I guess kings have to have cool entrances, huh?" Daylen joked as he and the others greeted Duran.

"Damn right. It's one of the perks." Duran joked back as he shook his friend's hand.

"How the hell did you guys get here so fast?" Aedan asked.

"We came ahead of the army. I had a feeling you'd all need the backup sooner rather than later, so I brought Kardol and a few Legionnaires." Duran explained as he motioned to Kardol who was standing across the courtyard with several of the other Legion of the Dead Warriors.

"You actually managed to convince those guys to fight on the surface?" Darrian asked, clearly surprised by their presence.

"It wasn't that hard actually, Kardol was pretty open to the idea." Duran replied.

"I'm pretty sure he was eager to fight alongside his king. These guys clearly respect you Duran." Daylen remarked proudly as he observed the Legionnaires.

"Or maybe they just didn't want to wait for the darkspawn to flee back to the Deep Roads." Duran replied dismissively.

"Honestly, you and Alistair should form a support group or something. 'Awesome leaders who don't realized how awesome they are'" Daylen joked.

"We heard you finally got him on the throne and that a wedding is on the horizon. How does it feel?" Duran asked as he faced Alistair.

"Do you mean being king or being engaged? Because I'm still a little nervous about both." Alistair replied.

"You know there's just no pleasing some people. I make him king and set him up with one of the hottest women in Ferelden and he still finds a way to mope." Daylen remarked sarcastically as they all laughed.

Afterwards, they all made their way inside the castle where Arl Eamon and Bann Teagan awaited them along with Riordan. "Good, you're finally here. Riordan has some troubling news." the arl said grimly.

"While we originally believed that the bulk of the horde was attacking Redcliffe, it has recently become clear that their true target is Denerim. The darkspawn army is already making their way towards the city as we speak." Riordan said seriously.

"But the armies haven't gathered here yet!" Darrian shouted. He was clearly panicked and the others understood why, he had family and friends in Denerim's alienage.

"Everyone should be here by nightfall. We'll have to march for Denerim the first thing in the morning." Daylen advised.

"I agree. We cannot allow Denerim to fall under any circumstances." the arl replied.

"That isn't the only bad news. The Archdemon has been sighted at the head of the horde." Riordan added darkly.

"Maker help us!" the arl replied in a hushed tone.

After a few moments of silence Daylen broke the tension. "Then I suppose the dragon had best be prepared to have its ass kicked."

The others couldn't help but grin a little. "Teagan and I will begin organizing our men and relaying orders to the others." the arl said before facing his brother.

"There is...something else that we need to discuss. Warden business." Riordan stated hesitantly.

"Your rooms have already been prepared, you're welcome to make use of them." the arl replied courteously.

"Thank you arl. When you're all ready, meet me in my room upstairs." Riordan replied before disappearing.

"What do you suppose that's about?" Aedan asked.

"I imagine it has to do with our strategy for tomorrow. The Archdemon will be a fearsome opponent." Theron replied.

"No kidding. Ten of us against that thing and its army of darkspawn. We've got one hell of a battle waiting for us." Darrian remarked.

"A battle we can't afford to lose." Daylen added seriously as he led the way towards the stairs. Along the way they checked in with the others. Dog was keeping Leliana company while Oghren haggled with Bodahn, who'd somehow made his way to the castle along with Sandahl and was actually still conducting business. Wynne was healing the guards who'd been injured in the darkspawn attack and Zevran was doing his best to annoy Sten. Morrigan was conspicuously absent.

Riordan was awaiting them when they arrived in his room on the next level, with a grave look on his face. "This can't be good." Daylen thought to himself.

"I'm glad you're all here, there is something that we need to discuss. Tell me, do you know what is involved in slaying an Archdemon?" Riordan asked.

"You mean there's more involved than just killing the damn thing?" Aedan replied.

"I see. I had hoped that Duncan had managed to fill you in on the details before he died. Do you know why a Grey Warden is needed to slay an Archdemon?" Riordan asked.

"It must have something to do with the taint we carry, right?" Daylen replied.

"Yes. You see if anyone outside of a warden were to deliver the killing blow to the beast, its soul would simply travel into the nearest darkspawn and it would be reborn anew. This makes the creature all but immortal. But if a warden delivers the final blow, the Archdemon's soul enters the body of the warden instead." Riordan explained.

"And what happens to the warden?" Neria asked cautiously, but they had all figured out the answer.

"A darkspawn is a soulless being, but a warden is not. The warden's soul as well as the Archdemon's are both destroyed." he added solemnly.

"You're saying that the warden who delivers the final blow against the Archdemon dies?" Alistair asked quietly.

"Yes, I am sorry that those so young have to carry such a burden but it is our duty as wardens." Riordan replied gravely.

Silence fell upon the room as they all considered what they'd just been told. "Alright, I'll take the final blow." Daylen finally said resolutely as he faced his friends.

"The hell you are!" Elissa shouted immediately. "You stupid, selfless-"

"This isn't up for discussion. I'm the most expendable one here. Duran and Alistair both have kingdoms that need them and Duran needs Natia. You and Aedan are going to have to rebuild Highever. The Circle will need Neria's guidance and there's no way I'd ever let either of you do this. Losing Theron would destroy Neria and Darrian has a family waiting for him to return. This is the way it should be." Daylen explained quietly.

Elissa was staring at him with tears in her eyes. "And what about me?! Did you stop to think how your death would affect the rest of us? What it would do to me? Daylen do you know what-"

"You'll all get over it and you'll get over me so-" but before Daylen could finish his thought a fist instantly collided with his jaw and sent him staggering. Aedan quickly grabbed him by the robes and stood face to face with him.

"You selfish bastard! I told you before didn't I? Best friend or not, if you made Elissa cry...I'll take the final blow, dammit and-"

Suddenly Aedan found himself struck in the chin by a rather powerful uppercut that sent him reeling. "Who's being selfish now?" Daylen cut in coldly. "What about Leliana, did you forget about her? And in case you didn't hear me before, I said this wasn't up for discussion." he added as he and his best friend glared at each other.

"Daylen, do you really expect any of us to simply accept your sacrifice without question? I decided long ago that I would follow my own path wherever it led me and if it leads to slaying the Archdemon and sparing all of you from death, then so be it." Theron said calmly as Neria clutched his hand.

"Who the hell said you get to decide anyway? If I see my chance, I'm taking it and I don't give a damn what you have to say about it." Darrian added defiantly.

"This was all decided a long time ago when you all elected me as leader." Daylen replied seriously. "And if I have to MAKE you abide by my decision then so be it." he added sternly as he began to radiate arcane energy.

"Son of a...if that's how you want to play it." Aedan remarked angrily as he drew his sword and readied his shield while Darrian drew his own weapons.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Duran roared before quickly standing and punching each of them in the stomach. "I'm not about to stand here and let you idiots make the Archdemon's job easier." he added. As they all settled down he continued. "Daylen, you may want to spare us all from death and carry this burden alone like you always do, but nothing you say is going to change how we all feel. Like it or not, we've all made up our minds." he said quietly as Natia approached him from behind and grabbed his hand.

Daylen appeared to be preparing a retort when Riordan finally cut in. "While it does my heart proud to see how dedicated you all are, the responsibility should fall to me. I am the eldest warden here and the taint won't spare me much longer. Don't be so quick to offer your lives." he said seriously.

Not long afterwards , they all began exiting the room. Elissa was still furious with Daylen and refused to even look in his direction as she left and things with Aedan weren't much better.

Sometime later, Duran found himself alone with Natia in their room contemplating the situation. "He would have seriously fought us, that bastard." he said in an exhausted tone.

"Of course he would've, this is Daylen we're talking about." she replied before wrapping her arms around him from behind. "So, what about you handsome? You planning to make me a widow?" she asked quietly.

Duran turned to face her. "If I see my chance, I'll take it. But if that's what it comes down to, I'm sorry." he replied sincerely.

"I guess we're all selfish bastards." she added softly before kissing him.

Aedan was still fuming when he got to his room. "That idiot!" he shouted as he paced back and forth. He hadn't even noticed Leliana's presence on the bed and continued muttering to himself before she finally interrupted.

"Is something the matter?" she asked gently.

"Leliana?! I...nothing, Daylen and I just had a fight that's all." he replied hesitantly. As she approached she quickly took notice of the bruises on his face.

"It must have been serious for the two of you to come to blows." she remarked quietly as she placed her hands on his face.

"He...wants to do something beyond reckless and I want to stop him. But I can't." he replied sadly. "He's not the only one, tomorrow we'll all be facing the same unknown, with the same thought in mind. Right now, I'm just as angry with myself as I am with him. Or maybe, I'm just angry about the fact that none of us has a choice but to be reckless tomorrow." he added quietly.

"Aedan...I don't know what exactly is troubling you right now, but I want you to know that we'll all be fighting with you tomorrow. I also want you to know that I am here for you now and I always will be." Leliana said gently as she embraced him.

"Leliana..." Aedan couldn't say anymore. There was simply no way he could share the details of the burden that he and the others were carrying at the moment. All he could do was accept the warmth that she offered at the moment and hope that neither ended up regretting it later.

As Theron stared into the night sky while sitting on the castle steps, he couldn't help but reflect on everything that he'd experienced since joining the wardens. His journey had carried him far from the lands he'd grown accustomed to traversing and he'd spent a great deal of time away from his people. But he'd also met some rather amazing people and forged some very powerful friendships. And there was Neria...

"I figured I'd find you here." Neria said as she approached from the castle.

"Would you care to join me?" Theron asked.

Neria quickly nodded and took a seat next to him. "I don't want you to die Theron." she finally said after awhile.

"I don't want you to die either and I certainly don't wish to be separated from you. But, given the situation...one or the other is likely to occur. I know it's selfish for me to say this, but I have no intention of letting you die, Neria. Even if it means forfeiting my own life. I suppose that I'm similar to Daylen in that regard." Theron replied quietly.

"I feel the same way." she said before resting her head on his shoulder. "I have an idea. No matter what happens tomorrow, I'll live for you and you'll live for me. What do you say?"

As Theron looked into her innocent eyes, he immediately understood that the facade was the only way that she'd be able to face the coming battle. "Yes." he replied before kissing her. Afterwards, as he held her and they continued to stare into the sky together, Theron felt the unmistakable pangs of guilt. For the first time since they'd met, he may have actually lied to Neria.

"Well, that was tense." Alistair finally remarked wryly as he and Darrian shared a drink.

"I can't believe that bastard actually tried to pull that crap!" Darrian replied angrily before taking a sip from his glass.

He had decided to treat the young elf to a pre battle drink to try and settle his nerves and also to relieve his own anxieties. "I expected him to offer to take the final blow himself but to be honest, I never thought that he'd try and fight us for the honor." he joked.

"This is serious, dammit!" Darrian said angrily. "If anyone here is the most expendable, it's me! Daylen was the one who carried us this far and...if he dies it'll absolutely destroy Elissa and Neria. Not to mention all those mages back at the tower and the kid who lives here. And he's still going to go for it and we can't stop him." Darrian added sadly before taking another sip of the whiskey that Alistair had poured them.

"It's true. But he can't stop us either, Darrian. I for one have no intention of sacrificing any of you and I won't hesitate to take my chance should the opportunity present itself." Alistair replied sternly.

"But you're the damn king of Ferelden now!" Darrian sputtered incredulously.

"And what sort of king would I be if I turned my back on my friends or abandoned them when they needed me the most? If the worst should happen, Anora can take care of Ferelden, she'd probably prefer it that way, but under no circumstances will I run away." Alistair said resolutely.

As Darrian stared at the former templar he couldn't help but respect his resolve. "Well, here's to nine morons rushing head first into death itself." he said before raising his glass to a toast that Alistair quickly reciprocated. They could only hope that they'd somehow beat the odds without sacrificing anyone, but in their hearts they knew that that wouldn't likely be the case.

Wynne hadn't bothered asking why Elissa had suddenly appeared on her doorstep. She could only surmise that the young woman had gotten into a fight with Daylen and was now seeking refuge elsewhere. Her presence certainly wasn't an inconvenience, as there were two beds in the room and given Elissa's current emotional state, she didn't think it'd be prudent to leave her on her own. As Wynne sat in a rather comfortable chair reading one of the many books that Daylen and Neria had gotten her, she found herself occasionally glancing in Elissa's direction as the young woman laid face down on her bed. Wynne was certain that she'd been crying, but she didn't want to pry and instead chose to allow her to share what she was willing to once she was ready.

Eventually, Elissa finally rolled over and sat up. "Was he like this at the tower?" she finally asked.

Wynne was slightly taken aback by the sudden question as well as her abrupt change in demeanor. "I'll assume that you're referring to Daylen." she replied gently. "But I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific if I'm going to help you." she added while smiling.

"You know! Always acting goofy, making everyone around him feel at ease, then risking his life at a moment's notice!" Elissa shouted angrily.

Wynne took a moment to consider before answering. "I imagine that the boy that you once shared your summers with was the same boy who ended up causing mischief in the tower later." she remarked while fondly reminiscing of a younger Daylen running amok through the tower with Neria close behind, lecturing him.

"When we were children, he once dove into a lake just to retrieve a ribbon that I'd lost. It was one of my favorites and he knew that, but the idiot almost drowned! When he finally made it back to shore, he had that same stupid grin that he always has and just handed me the ribbon as if it were nothing. As if that ribbon were more important than his safety, his life..." Elissa explained.

"Well, now I'm certain that he was the same boy that you and Aedan grew up with." Wynne replied before chuckling. She decided to elaborate after seeing the confused look on Elissa's face. "The Circle's Tower is a community like any other you may find, despite our differences. And like any other community that has children growing up in it, there are inevitably conflicts that end up occurring, perhaps conflicts that end up being a bit more abrasive with magic being involved. The children who end up being brought to the tower come from all manner of circumstances, but they all share the gift of magic and some end up demonstrating a bit more talent and power than others. This can sometimes lead to arrogance and a bit of bullying. Daylen happened to be one of the more gifted young people in the tower, but rather than intimidate others, he instead chose to encourage them and take a stand against his less benevolent peers. However, that course of action wasn't without its consequences, and Daylen often found himself in quite a few skirmishes and on the wrong side of the templars. Despite his rather admirable reasons for causing trouble, he'd never admit them and would instead accept punishment from the senior mages who caught him. I believe his only reprieve came when myself or Irving apprehended him." Wynne explained warmly.

"Damn him..." Elissa whispered.

"Daylen Amell is a remarkable young man whom I'm proud to say I had a hand in raising. His selflessness, recklessness and mischievous streak are all facets of what make him the person that he has become." Wynne continued. "I'm not sure what sort of disagreement the two of you are having at the moment, but I have a feeling that it likely involves Daylen attempting to risk his life for the sake of others. And if that is indeed the case, this old woman would like to personally ask that you not be too hard on him. After all, I'm positive that his altruism is one of the many reasons that you've grown to care for him as you do." Wynne added gently.

Elissa thought about everything that Wynne had said and also found herself recalling her own memories of Daylen in the past. Wynne was right, Daylen had always been this way but that was the problem. In the brutal battle to come, that stupid little boy whom she loved with all her heart, would without a doubt try to sacrifice himself for their sakes. And he'd likely do it while wearing that stupid grin of his.

"Thank you, Wynne. Good night." Elissa finally said before once again lying on her bed. "I won't let you die, you idiot!" she whispered to herself defiantly before closing her eyes and praying that tomorrow never came.

As Daylen entered his room, he was met with an unexpected surprise in the form of Morrigan who was standing in front of his fireplace. "Don't take this the wrong way Morrigan, but I'm not really in the mood for visitors right now." Daylen said wearily.

"I can imagine." she replied casually before approaching him and examining the bruises on his face. "I take it there was a dispute over who would deal the final blow." she added before mending the injuries with a heal spell. As her fingers stroked his cheek Daylen quickly grabbed her hand.

"What do you know?" he asked seriously.

Morrigan simply smiled as she withdrew her hand. "Everything." she replied. "I know what happens when a Grey Warden slays an Archdemon. Tis why I'm here you see. I can offer you a way to save yourself and the others." she added as she strolled over to the bed.

"How do you know?" Daylen asked, although he was fairly certain that he already knew the answer.

"Flemeth. Tis why she sent me with you." Morrigan replied.

"Do me a favor and start explaining." Daylen said seriously.

"As I said before, there is a way to save you and the others. A ritual performed on the eve of battle." Morrigan replied.

"What kind of ritual?" Daylen asked.

"Old magic, some would call it blood magic, but that is only a name. What I'm proposing is that you share a bed with me tonight and together we conceive a child. Once the Archdemon is slain, its soul will enter the body of the unborn child instead of the warden who killed it. At such an early stage of development, the child won't be harmed and will instead absorb the soul and be born with the untainted essence of the old god that the Archdemon once was." Morrigan explained.

Daylen was struggling to comprehend everything that Morrigan had just said. "I'm guessing you got this ritual from Flemeth." he finally replied.

"Yes, as I said before tis why she sent me with you." Morrigan said plainly.

A lot of things were starting to make sense in Daylen's mind. "That little chat we had not too long ago about children, you knew then didn't you?" he asked coldly.

"Of course." Morrigan replied.

There were a few moments of silence while Daylen considered what Morrigan had told him. "What would you do with this child? I mean, I can't believe I'm even saying this, but if I agreed to this, I'd be this kid's father. Where would I fit into the equation?" he asked.

"You wouldn't fit anywhere. After the battle tomorrow, you will never see me again. I intend to raise the child away from civilization and to respect the world from which it came. You can't be a part of that...I'm sorry." Morrigan responded quietly.

Daylen couldn't believe what he was hearing, this was way beyond her usual selfishness. "So you expect me to trust you with a child, a child that I would have ties to, a child carrying the soul of an old god, simply because you asked me to? Have you ever been straight with me Morrigan? Why even come to me in the first place? It sounds like you could have gotten what you wanted from one of the others." Daylen remarked bitterly.

Morrigan's eyes narrowed as she stared at Daylen before softening. "I came to you because it is your life that I wish to save and your child that I wish to bear. You don't have to trust my intentions in regards to the child, but I ask that you trust in my desire to save your life." she responded softly.

He wanted to believe her but everything about what she was proposing was risky and it included betraying Elissa's trust. "Dammit Morrigan, my own doubts aside, I could never do this to Elissa." Daylen said wearily.

"Then do this FOR Elissa and the others. You have no doubt decided to take the final blow yourself, but I am sure that the others have as well. Can you be certain that you will be the one to make the sacrifice?" Morrigan stated persuasively.

She had a point, he couldn't be sure that one of the others wouldn't deliver the final strike, that Elissa wouldn't...but there were still too many variables to consider.

"You may not believe me and I know that I haven't always lived up to the name, but I do consider you a friend Daylen Amell. There was also a time when I desired more, truthfully part of me still does. Right now, it is within my power to save you from the burden that the Grey Wardens have placed on you, to prevent death from claiming you when the Archdemon falls. I want to save you and you wish to save the others, including Elissa. So grant me this one night with you, so that we may both get what we desire." Morrigan said firmly before disrobing in front of Daylen.

At no point in Daylen's life was he ever as full of uncertainty as he was in that moment. The moment when a beautiful Witch of the Wilds began making her approach towards him. The light from the fireplace only served to illuminate the loveliness of her naked form and Daylen found himself faltering under her gaze as she made her way closer. "Dammit." he thought to himself as Morrigan pressed her body against his.


	48. Chapter 48: Tension

Chapter 48: Tension

It was early morning and the sun had yet to rise. Theron was of course already awake and ready to face the challenges of the coming day as he stared outside the window of his guestroom. He had been awake for almost an hour, but as usual, it had taken him a rather substantial length of time to extract himself from the result of Neria's 'unconventional' sleeping habits. As he gazed at the jumble of limbs and linens that currently occupied the bed, he couldn't help but smile. As daunting as the task was that currently stood before him and his friends, he was at peace. He continued to gaze outside the window before noticing a very soft knock outside his door. He quickly threw on a pair of trousers and went to see who it was.

"Sorry to disturb you sir." the young militiamen whispered apologetically. Theron recognized the youth, he was one of the few elven members of Redcliffe's militia and also an archer. Theron had given him a few pointers during the previous evening and the youth appeared to be quite grateful. It was obvious that he had a great deal of respect for not only Theron, but also Darrian. They were after all not only Grey Wardens, but also acting commanders of one of the biggest military coalitions that Ferelden had ever seen. Both were in positions of authority that most elves could normally only dream of.

"It is alright Korin, is something wrong?" Theron replied pleasantly.

"The Dalish warriors have requested your presence before the march begins. I think they want you to lead them in the charge on Denerim." Korin replied with a note of admiration in his voice.

This was no doubt Mithra's doing, she'd eluded to this during the previous evening. "I see, tell them I'll be there shortly." Theron said before glancing over at Neria's still sleeping form.

"Um, sir? There is something else." Korin added hesitantly.

"What is it?" Theron asked.

"The mages also asked me to deliver a similar message to Daylen Amell. But you see-"

"Say no more Korin. I'll inform Daylen of their request." Theron quickly replied. The young archer had no doubt been eager to bring news to Theron, but dealing with mages had likely unnerved him. Despite their unified front, it appeared that old insecurities still prevailed.

"Thank you sir and...it'll be an honor to fight alongside you. I just wanted you to know that...I-I should get back, the captain says we have to be ready to move at dawn." Korin replied nervously before disappearing down the hall.

After observing the young man's departure, Theron simply grinned while shaking his head. He then got dressed and took a moment to kiss Neria who was still asleep in her usual disarray before leaving their room and proceeding to Daylen's. Daylen would no doubt find the request for his leadership troublesome, but he'd likely agree to it anyway simply because of how much he cared for the young mages who'd been sent to aid them. Many of them were eager but inexperienced and Theron knew that Daylen still felt guilty about using them to face the Blight.

"We must all face the darkness at some point Daylen." Theron said softly to himself as he rounded a corner in the hall. As the door to Daylen's room came into view, a rather shocking and also disconcerting scene awaited Theron.

Standing in the hall was Elissa, who appeared to be positively stunned and visibly upset. Before Theron could ponder why, the answer presented itself as Morrigan came into view standing within Daylen's doorway, scantily clad and with a distinct look of satisfaction on her face.

"You...you...what-" Elissa finally managed.

"What? I assumed that it was fairly obvious. Now then, is there something you required?" Morrigan asked smugly.

Suddenly Daylen appeared behind her, partially dressed and shocked by Elissa's presence. "Elissa?! What are you-"

"So the minute we have a fight you sneak off with this witch!?" she cut in quietly as her body trembled with rage.

"That's not-"

Elissa didn't give him a chance to respond and slapped him as hard as humanly possible and without a second glance, she stormed away from the scene with tears in her eyes. "Daylen...what have you done?" Theron thought to himself. Afterwards, he withdrew to the corner of the hallway and waited for the proper opportunity to approach. He was fortunate that no one had sensed his presence and never had he been more grateful for his training as a Dalish hunter. Eventually, Morrigan appeared once more, now fully dressed and disappeared down the hall. Theron decided to wait a few minutes before approaching Daylen's room. After standing in the hallway for what seemed an eternity, Theron finally made his way to Daylen's room and proceeded to knock.

"Elissa, listen-" Daylen began as he opened the door. "Theron? What's going on?" he quickly asked after peering outside the door.

"The mages have requested your presence, it is my understanding that they likely wish to have you lead them in the march to Denerim." Theron explained as calmly as he could, which was proving to be difficult given the scene he'd just witnessed.

"Oh, right. Tell them that I'll be there shortly." Daylen replied in a distracted manner.

Theron turned to leave, but decided that he couldn't. Whatever this was, it was obviously a matter between Daylen, Elissa and Morrigan. But this wasn't like Daylen, he was no stranger to charming women, but he'd always made it clear that he was spoken for and Theron was absolutely certain that he loved Elissa. He had to unearth the truth, if for no other reason than to allay any concerns that Neria would undoubtedly have if this predicament became known to the others. At that moment, Theron hated where his path had led him.

"Daylen, that scene before, what was it about?" he finally asked after turning to face him. "I know that this matter doesn't involve me and shouldn't be my concern, but...what have you done?"

Daylen simply stood in his doorway for a few moments before turning and entering his room while motioning to Theron to follow. After they were both inside, the young mage immediately collapsed onto his bed and shut his eyes.

"I screwed up Theron, I completely screwed up. I was so determined to prevent one us from dying, to prevent Elissa from...and now I've hurt her. I've given her a scar that won't ever heal because I couldn't face the possibility of losing one of you...of losing her." Daylen said, the remorse in his voice was clearly evident.

"What do you mean?" Theron asked, clearly confused by the confession.

Daylen released a sigh before explaining everything regarding Morrigan and the ritual. Theron was stunned by the revelation. "Daylen, the possible implications of this are, staggering to say the least." he finally replied.

"I know, I KNOW! Dammit, I had doubts the moment Morrigan mentioned it, especially after I realized her deception. But as hesitant as I was, the one thought that kept lingering through to the surface was that maybe there wouldn't have to be a sacrifice. If I went through with Morrigan's ritual, none of you would have to die." Daylen said in an exhausted tone. "But honestly Theron, that wasn't my only reason. The truth is that part me simply gave in and surrendered to Morrigan's seduction. Last night I felt like I was carrying all of Thedas on my shoulders and part of me just wanted some comfort. Some leader I am." he confessed guiltily.

There was a long silence as Theron considered everything. "None of us are perfect Daylen and you're no exception. I can't say for certain whether you made the right decision or not and I'm certainly not going to judge you for a moment of weakness considering what I've seen you face in the past. I won't pretend that I trust Morrigan, but I do believe that she wants to save your life, if nothing else. And as far as Elissa is concerned, I think you should explain the situation to her. It won't erase her pain, but it will clarify things and perhaps help the two of you work through this." Theron said wisely.

"Maybe I don't deserve a second chance, Theron." Daylen replied wearily. "Despite everything, I still intend to be the one who kills that thing." he added after awhile. "How pathetic is this? I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me in order to protect it only to find myself doubting the gamble."

"Daylen, you can't be-"

"My mind's made up Theron. At the end of the day, nothing has really changed." Daylen said resolutely. "And I'd appreciate it if we kept this between us." he added seriously.

There was no need for him to make such a request, Theron had no intention of sharing any of the details of what had transpired with anyone. As he made his way back into the hall, Theron couldn't help but empathize with Daylen. If Morrigan had approached him, he couldn't honestly claim with any degree of certainty that he wouldn't have accepted her offer himself, if it meant sparing Neria from death. "Creators help us." he thought as he proceeded down the stairs. In a few hours they would be facing the most savage and destructive incarnation of evil that hadn't been seen for centuries, the last thing they needed now was a fracture in their unity.

As dawn arrived, Daylen found himself facing dozens of eager but nervous mages with Irving and several more senior enchanters close by. There were also a large number of templars nearby who were being led by Gregoir. As Daylen surveyed them all, he quickly caught sight of Petra who waved at him and Kinnon who did the same. It was nice to see some familiar faces, but at the moment Daylen's mind was preoccupied with a mountain of thoughts that had little to do with leading an army to war. Elissa was refusing to speak with him and was also avoiding him at all costs, but he'd expected that. He didn't deserve her forgiveness and he'd already decided not to pursue it. The others were still slightly bitter about his attempt to force himself as the sacrifice in slaying the Archdemon, Aedan was especially angry. The one bright side was that it masked the deeper rift that had developed between himself and Elissa. He was quite grateful for the fact that Neria was at least being her usual self around him. Having Theron as an accidental confidante was also comforting, while he was clearly in favor of Daylen clearing the air with Elissa, he didn't force the issue nor did he argue his decision in regards to slaying the Archdemon. The Dalish hunter had made it clear that he himself still planned to take any opportunity to slay the monster himself, if given the chance and that he didn't fault Daylen for wanting to do the same.

"I'm really glad Neria chose you, buddy." Daylen thought to himself before leading the mages in their first steps towards Denerim.

The march towards Denerim was massive in scale and significance. Never before had Ferelden or possibly Thedas for that matter, bore witness to such a varied alliance. Duran and Natia led the dwarves of Orzammar, made up of both warriors and casteless, while Theron led the way for the Dalish warriors who'd come from all manner of clans scattered across the Brecilian Forest. Aedan was also leading a contingent of Redcliffe knights whom Arl Eamon had placed under his command. Alistair was leading the largest force made up of militiamen, Redcliffe soldiers and several of the arl's personal guards. And of course Daylen himself was marching at the head of the mages of the Ferelden Circle of Magi with Neria beside him. It was an awe inspiring sight and the armies would be tested almost immediately after reaching the outskirts of Denerim. After Alistair gave a rather impressive speech that rallied everyone, they all rushed the darkspawn who were already breaching the city and massacring the inhabitants.

Battles began raging everywhere as soldiers engaged the darkspawn and mages began casting spells while templars guarded them against attack. "Who would've ever thought that this would come to pass?" Daylen mused to himself as he killed a group of genlocks with a shock spell. Their forces were doing well as more darkspawn were destroyed and many more began withdrawing into the burning chaos that was Denerim. Eventually, most of the fiends were routed and Riordan gathered everyone to plan their next course of action.

"Alright, the army is doing well but it won't hold out forever. We must enter the city and slay the Archdemon." Riordan said seriously.

"And how exactly are we supposed to kill a flying dragon?" Alistair asked.

"We must make our way to the top of Fort Drakon." Riordan replied.

"You want to lure it to the top the fort?" Alistair asked incredulously.

"We have no choice, as long as it remains airborne, it has a distinct advantage." Riordan replied.

"He's right, that's how we've always handled high dragons in the past." Daylen added.

"Alright, so how do we proceed?" Duran asked.

"I recommend you form two teams of wardens and enter the city. I'll move ahead and track the Archdemon's movements. I also suggest that everyone else remain here and see to it that this location remains secure." Riordan advised.

"You're going in alone? Are you sure about this?" Aedan asked.

"Yes, It will be harder for the darkspawn to sense me and I can move faster." Riordan replied. "You should also be aware of the fact that two of the Archdemon's generals are in the city as we speak. Killing them would make the fight against the creature a great deal easier." he added.

"Where are they?" Daylen asked.

"I can't give you specific locations, but I can sense one somewhere in the market district and another one near the alienage." Riordan replied.

"Damn!" Darrian shouted.

"As I said before, killing them will make our fight against the Archdemon much easier but searching for them could also waste valuable time. The decision is yours." Riordan said. "Now I suggest we get moving." he added before departing the group.

"Alright. Duran, Natia and Alistair are with me. We'll head into the market district and kill the general that's hiding there. The rest of you head to the alienage and deal with the bastard there. We'll make our way to the top of the fort separately and meet up to face the Archdemon." Daylen announced.

"Why are we going separately?" Neria asked, with a note of concern in her voice.

"After we deal with the generals, we'll be approaching the fort from two different directions and there won't be time to meet up. This is the way it has to be Neria." Daylen explained.

It also gave Daylen an excuse to avoid facing Elissa and Theron was quick to pick up on that fact. "Daylen, are you absolutely sure that you want to part ways like this? You may not get another chance to resolve the situation." Theron said seriously as he faced Daylen.

The others appeared to be confused and as Daylen glanced in Elissa's direction, she promptly avoided his gaze. "Like I said before Theron, I don't deserve it." he replied quietly. "Now let's say our goodbyes to the others and get moving." he added.

"Sten, I want you to lead the defenses here. You've got experience and I know you can handle it." Daylen said as he and the others approached their companions.

"No doubt." Sten replied stoically while giving what was unmistakably a smile.

"Damn. These really may be our final days." Daylen joked.

"It has been an honor Kadan." Sten added.

"Likewise Sten." Daylen replied.

"I expect you and Neria to both return safely and with many more stories to tell the others." Wynne said gently as Daylen and Neria both got quiet. "We're all immensely proud of the both of you." she added before hugging her former apprentices.

"Aedan, you have become very dear to me and if you don't return from this...I will be very cross with you. I won't forgive you if I end up traveling the world alone." Leliana said tearfully before kissing Aedan.

"You bastards get all the fun." Oghren laughed. "Hell, I owe you a lot. You took a drunk who was barely still a warrior caste and gave me a chance to prove myself. And I didn't forget about that help with Felsi either. You're alright Daylen, you all are."

"Do me two favors Oghren. Leave a really big mess here if anymore darkspawn show up and take damn good care of Felsi. Don't take her for granted and...don't screw things up." Daylen replied as he struggled to avoid looking in Elissa's direction.

"No trouble on either of those fronts, Daylen. Now go kill that dragon and bring a piece back as a souvenir." Oghren joked.

"I must say, I am rather relieved that fighting the Archdemon is a warden only excursion. If you all happen to survive, I shall treat you to a lavish evening of pleasures and delights that you can only dream of. Or I will if the Pearl is still standing." Zevran joked.

"Forget it. I for one am through being manipulated by you." Darrian replied in an annoyed tone.

"So you say now my simpleminded friend, but we shall see." Zevran remarked deviously.

Dog was eager to get a pat from each of them and also quite reluctant to let Aedan enter the city without him. "We have to do this without you boy. I'm sorry. Now be sure to help the others if anymore darkspawn show up." Aedan said as he scratched Dog's ears affectionately. The hound grudgingly obeyed after licking Aedan's face one final time.

"I suppose there is nothing else that remains to be said. You know my feelings." Morrigan said plainly as she faced Daylen.

"Morrigan, just in case we never see each other again. Thanks." he replied as he stared into her eyes.

"Daylen...live gloriously." she replied softly.

The whole exchange had driven Elissa to the verge of tears, fortunately Theron was the only one who'd noticed. Afterwards, the wardens split into their teams and made their way into the city to the resounding applause of every soldier gathered outside the city. Once inside, they immediately went their separate ways.

As Daylen's group made their way into the center of the market district, they were immediately met by a horde of ogres. "Good, I don't deserve to have it easy." Daylen muttered to himself as he prepared to face the horned giants.

As Theron and the others made their way towards the alienage, he found himself worrying about Daylen's state of mind. He'd made it clear that he planned to slay the Archdemon, but with things as they were, the darkspawn stood a fairly good chance of exploiting his current condition. There was also Elissa's status, she was a berserker and her fighting style was already fairly dangerous. Add the fact that her current emotional state didn't lend itself well to self-preservation and they had a recipe for disaster. As Theron glanced over at the young woman, whose eyes only reflected pain and sorrow, he became even more convinced of his conclusions. Theron had promised Daylen that he'd honor his wishes and not get involved, but if this continued, the Dalish warrior would end up losing two good friends and Ferelden might end up losing a war. "Forgive me Daylen, but this cannot continue." he said to himself as the group entered the alienage.


	49. Chapter 49: Rushing to Oblivion

Chapter 49: Rushing to Oblivion

"Duran, you handle the general! I'll deal with these damn ogres! Alistair, you and Natia handle the emissaries!" Daylen yelled after tearing apart his fifth ogre with a crushing prison spell. The others reacted immediately as Daylen summoned an inferno that devastated another trio of rampaging ogres.

Their battle into the center of Denerim's market district hadn't been an easy one and the seemingly endless waves of ogres were making it all the more difficult. So far, Daylen had managed to annihilate the horned giants before they could cause any problems for his friends, but now emissaries were showing up and the hurlock general had finally revealed itself.

As the battle continued, Alistair released a holy smite that stunned the pair of emissaries who'd entered the fray. Natia quickly exploited their momentary vulnerability by backstabbing both while Duran fought the hurlock general. The creature was proving to be a difficult opponent as it rallied the ogres and emissaries who continued to enter the scene. As Duran continued to battle the fiend, he was suddenly hit by a two-handed sweep that knocked him off his feet. The general quickly followed up with a mighty blow that Duran narrowly escaped by rolling out of the way. As he glanced at the gaping hole left by the creature's attack, Duran decided that it was time to end things, quickly.

As the general prepared to make a critical strike with its battleaxe, Duran immediately unleashed a shield bash that knocked the creature off balance before quickly executing an assault combo that dropped the fiend to its knees where Duran beheaded it. With the general dead, the other darkspawn quickly became disorganized. Daylen took advantage of their confusion by killing a trio of emissaries with a mana clash and decimating the remaining ogres with another inferno.

"Alright, I think we're good to go." he announced afterwards.

"Then we should start moving towards the palace district. I'm not sure how far ahead Riordan is, but he's going to need help at some point if what we just faced here is any indication." Alistair replied before wiping the sweat from his face.

"I'm sure the darkspawn are going to have one hell of a welcome ready for us." Natia added.

"Then we'll have to break through somehow." Duran said as he caught his breath.

"I'll deal with any hordes we come across." Daylen replied calmly.

The others exchanged uneasy glances with one another after hearing his declaration. Daylen had always been one of their biggest heavy hitters, but something about how he was fighting now was unnerving. He'd been drawing far too much enemy attention to himself and the only reason it hadn't backfired yet was because he'd managed to kill everything before it could get close. They weren't sure what was going through the young mage's mind at the moment, but he was definitely behaving more recklessly than usual.

"Let's move." Daylen finally added as he led the way towards the palace district.

As Daylen and the others entered the palace district, they were promptly met with a tragic event that ended up reinforcing the resolve in each of them. Riordan had leapt from a nearby tower onto the Archdemon itself as it flew past and severely wounded its wings with his sword. Unfortunately, the creature managed to shake him loose and he went plummeting to his death while the Archdemon landed on top of Fort Drakon.

After a few moments of silence, Daylen led the way forward. "He brought it down for us at least. The rest is up to us." he said quietly before heading further into the palace district.

As the group made their way up a set of stairs, they were met by an ogre, an emissary and nearly a dozen genlocks. Daylen reacted instantly by killing the emissary with a mana clash and launching a fireball at the others. The ogre was the only one to survive the onslaught and Daylen quickly finished it off with a crushing prison.

After reaching the top of another set of stairs, Natia noticed a line of traps that she quickly got to work on disarming. The path to Fort Drakon was straight ahead, but so was the largest gathering of darkspawn that they'd encountered yet. The coalition of fiends was staggering. There were emissaries, shrieks, genlocks, hurlocks and a few ogres.

"Well, I'd say we really stepped in it this time." Natia joked.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about them." Daylen replied coolly as he activated spell might. The others knew the drill at this point and instinctively took a few steps back. Daylen then summoned a blizzard followed by a tempest, creating the massively powerful storm of the century spell combination which immediately laid waste to the small army of darkspawn as well as their reinforcements that arrived from the gates of Fort Drakon. Once the carnage was complete, Daylen led the way forward once more.

"Save some for the Archdemon, will you?" Alistair joked as they stepped over several darkspawn corpses.

"Don't worry, I will." Daylen replied coldly.

The others once again exchanged uneasy glances with each other. Daylen would without a doubt lead them to the beast and likely annihilate everything that got in their way, but this wasn't the Daylen they knew. Something about him was different.

"Daylen, stop!" Natia shouted as she grabbed his hand. "What's wrong with you?" she asked with a look of concern on her face.

"Oh you know, just the usual. Having to slay an Archdemon, put an end to a Blight and fight every darkspawn jackass that gets in my way while I'm doing it." he replied with a cold sarcasm that only increased Natia's worries.

"So now you joke? Daylen, something's obviously wrong. We can all tell, now spill." Natia demanded as she faced her friend.

"Natia, I'm fine. Now, can we please get back to the matters at hand?" he replied dismissively.

"Daylen...why isn't Elissa here? Did you two have a fight?" Natia asked gently.

"Dammit Natia, we don't have time for this! I said I'm fine, now let's move!" he shouted angrily.

Before Natia could press the issue any further, Duran placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Daylen's right, now's not the time."

Natia wanted to argue, she wanted to know what the hell was going on, but she knew Duran would stop her and he was right. Now wasn't the time. "Fine, let's go." she finally replied after relenting.

After entering the entrance to Fort Drakon, the group met an even more fierce resistance. Behind two sets of barricades on each side of the area, hurlock archers relentlessly fired on them. There were also a pair of emissaries and genlock alphas awaiting them on the steps that led into the fort, surrounded by shrieks. To make matters worse, a pair of tainted dragons, dragon thralls, immediately landed in front of them and proceeded to attack.

"Damn! Natia, handle the archers. Duran, Alistair, deal with the dragon thralls! I'll handle the rest!" Daylen yelled.

"What do you mean you'll handle the rest?!" Alistair asked incredulously as he engaged one of the dragon thralls. He was desperately hoping that Daylen wasn't planning to fight the emissaries, alphas and shrieks alone.

His concerns were quickly confirmed when Daylen promptly marched to the front of the steps and killed the emissaries with a mana clash. He then hurled a fireball that scattered the shrieks and transformed into a bereskarn before proceeding to overwhelm and maul one of the genlock alphas before quickly engaging the other.

"Dammit, Daylen!" Alistair shouted as he released a shield pummel on the dragon thrall that he was fighting. He quickly finished the beast off before it could recover and tried to make his way towards Daylen who was now being swarmed by shrieks. Unfortunately, the hurlock archers were severely hindering his progress. Alistair quickly adopted a shield cover stance while Natia tossed firebombs at the nuisances. She continued to hurl bombs until all of the archers in area were dead and after Duran finished killing the dragon thrall that he was fighting, he joined Alistair in his advance towards Daylen who was now covered in shrieks who were doing their best to tear into him.

The bereskarn was a tough form, but under the assault that Daylen was currently suffering, it would only be a matter of time before he fell. Suddenly a glyph of repulsion appeared in the center of the mob that was attacking Daylen and tossed the creatures in every direction while several dwarven warriors accompanied by a number of templars rushed past Duran and Alistair from the rear and began fighting the scattered shrieks. Not long afterwards, Petra appeared accompanied by a pair of young mages who proceeded to fire a barrage of lightning and arcane bolt spells.

"Daylen!" she called desperately.

Daylen had reverted to human form and was clearly wounded. Petra's glyph had cleared most of the shrieks away from him, but there were still four remaining and clearly eager to tear him to shreds.

"You bastards think I'll let it be that easy!" he roared before releasing a mind blast that not only stunned the fiends, but also sent them flying backwards. Daylen quickly took advantage by blasting one with a crushing prison, another with a petrify and stonefist combo and froze the remaining fiends with a cone of cold spell before shattering them with his staff.

Afterwards, he fell to his knees in exhaustion as Petra and Natia made their way over to him. Duran and Alistair aided the templars and dwarven warriors in mopping up the remains of the shrieks before getting a situation report.

"Nice work, I owe you guys a drink." Duran said appreciatively as he patted one of the warriors on the back.

"It was our honor your highness. But we damn sure won't turn down a free drink from the king." the warrior laughed.

"So how many squads managed to make it into the city?" Duran asked seriously.

"Quite a few actually. We've been meeting up to try and converge on the locations that your highness and his allies have fought into." the warrior replied.

"Alright, I want you and the others here to keep this location secure. We've got friends who won't be far behind us." Duran ordered.

"But your highness, we planned to face the Archdemon with you-"

"No arguments! You have your orders." Duran cut in sternly. "And when I get back, make sure you bastards have decided what kind of ale you want me to buy." he added while grinning. The warrior smiled and saluted Duran while the other dwarven warriors did the same.

"You're a mess Daylen, stay still!" Petra said fretfully as she began healing Daylen.

"They're just scratches that look worse than they actually are." Daylen replied casually.

"We noticed your handiwork on the way here. I figured the darkspawn wouldn't take kindly to you wiping out a small army of their soldiers." Petra commented quietly. "You may be wielding the most powerful artifacts in Ferelden, but that spell combination is still dangerous to use on your own. That's why most mages use it in pairs, you're pushing it Daylen." she added gravely.

"I'm a Grey Warden, I don't have a choice. We have to get to the Archdemon, whatever the cost." Daylen replied seriously.

"Daylen...fine then at least let me restore you as much as possible before you go rushing off and tempting fate." she replied before casting rejuvenate on him.

After Petra was satisfied with Daylen's condition, he and the others bid her farewell as they entered Fort Drakon. As hard as the battles had been so far, the fights that awaited them within the fort would prove to be even more dangerous.

"Darrian!" Shianni shouted as he and the others approached.

"Shianni!" he replied as he embraced the young woman. "Are the others alright?" he asked after they parted.

"Yes, but not for much longer. Those things are pounding on the gate as we speak." she replied desperately.

"Then we'd better get ready for them." Aedan replied eagerly.

"Who-"

"He's one my fellow wardens and a friend." Darrian quickly replied as the others grinned at the proclamation. "And, what's with the bow?" he added as he surveyed Shianni more closely.

"Well someone had to do something to defend us! So some of the others and I...just shut up!" she replied with a note of embarrassment.

"You know if you're serious, Theron could give you a few pointers." Darrian joked.

"I would consider it an honor Shianni." Theron added seriously.

"Thank you Theron, and you should stop teasing me!" Shianni replied as she shoved Darrian.

"You're right." Darrian said as the grin on his face began to fade once he observed the scene outside the alienage's gate. An ogre was furiously assaulting the structure as a small army of darkspawn led by the darkspawn general eagerly awaited. Worse yet, the general appeared to be an emissary. "Alright Shianni, I want you and the others to get to safety. We'll handle these bastards." he added seriously.

"I won't bother trying to argue with you, but please be careful Darrian." she replied apprehensively.

"Shianni, we'll all be fine, so don't worry." Neria added confidently.

"After all, we still have much to do and a great deal to resolve." Theron remarked calmly as he glanced in Elissa's direction.

"Well, I'm more relieved hearing it from you and Neria." Shianni joked.

"Thanks a lot, no really." Darrian replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious Darrian, be careful." Shianni added seriously.

"I will, now get going." Darrian replied softly.

After staring at Darrian one final time, Shianni quickly departed with the other elven defenders as Darrian and the others readied themselves for battle. "Treasure her, Darrian." Elissa said quietly as they all faced the now crumbling gate.

"Huh?" Darrian replied in a confused tone.

Aedan simply shook his head as Neria grinned. Theron however continued to observe Elissa who was already releasing her rage. He'd already made up his mind, he was going to explain the situation regarding Daylen and Morrigan. But first he'd have to make sure that Elissa survived the coming battle.

As the gate came crashing down, the fight quickly began. Neria quickly hit the enemy general with a glyph of neutralization before turning her attention to the ogre. She hit the beast with a death hex before activating her combat magic and proceeding to cut it down in a rather spectacular fashion. Meanwhile, Darrian had closed in on the general who was unable to cast spells thanks to Neria's glyph, but still managed to fire several powerful shots from its staff. It was also proving to be a more capable melee combatant than expected as it deftly avoided Darrian's initial onslaught of dual strikes. After dodging another one of his attacks, it promptly blasted Darrian off his feet before opening fire against the others who were engaged in various battles of their own.

Aedan, Elissa and Theron were dealing with the mass of hurlocks that continued to pour in towards the entrance to the alienage. Their goal was to keep any of the beasts from making it into the already devastated community, but the task was proving to be increasingly difficult. Theron and Aedan were protecting the outer perimeter of the gate, killing any darkspawn that tried to pass but Elissa had taken it upon herself to wade into the center of the horde that was gathering outside the entrance. As usual, she was practically a force of nature as she tore through the creatures with ease and annihilated their reinforcements in a whirlwind of sword slashes. But as powerful as her assault was, the hurlocks and genlocks simply continued to rush in. It soon became clear that she was going to be overwhelmed.

"Neria, please assist Aedan!" Theron shouted, just as Neria cut through a pair of genlocks.

Neria quickly obeyed as Theron made his way towards Elissa. The root of the problem was the general, who was no doubt summoning the beasts to aid him. As Theron approached the enemy spell caster, he quickly took aim and fired an arrow of slaying just as the general fired a blast from its staff that sent Theron flying. The fiend was killed instantly and Theron quickly rose to his feet to assist Elissa who was now surrounded and being swarmed. The piles of corpses that littered the area around her spoke volumes about how dangerous she'd proven to be, but Theron was certain that her endurance had reached its limit.

As the Dalish warrior approached, he quickly fired several scattershots that not only cleared the swarm of beasts from Elissa, but also stunned them. He immediately followed up with a series of rapid shots that promptly laid waste to the now waning darkspawn invaders. Elissa eventually took advantage of the breather that Theron had provided her with and finished off the stragglers. Moments later, the sounds of celebration could be heard from the alienage as Neria, Aedan, and Darrian returned to reassure Shianni and the others. As Elissa began making her way back into the alienage to rejoin the others, Theron stopped her.

"There is something that we need to discuss." he said seriously.

"What? Oh, thanks for the help back there, I guess I got a little carried away." she replied evasively.

"We are all familiar with how you fight Elissa and normally it is to your benefit. But right now, you aren't focused and your thoughts are clearly elsewhere and I believe I know where." Theron added.

"I'm fine Theron and even if I weren't, it's really none of your business." Elissa replied irritably as she tried to move past the Dalish warrior who once again stopped her.

"I'm afraid it is my business and everyone else's for that matter. Very soon we will be facing the Archdemon and all of the forces at its command. If you continue as you are now, you will not only endanger yourself, but the rest of us as well." Theron said sternly.

"What do you want from me Theron? I'm a mess right now and I can't help it." Elissa replied quietly.

"I know. As I mentioned before, I know where your thoughts are at the moment." Theron said sympathetically.

"What do you mean?" Elissa asked.

"The situation with yourself, Daylen and Morrigan. I am aware of it, as well as the details that you don't know." Theron began quietly.

"What do you-"

"Please remain calm while I explain." Theron said before recounting his discovery of their predicament as well as what he'd learned from Daylen. After hearing his explanation, Elissa was furious.

"That bitch! Using us to manipulate him into...why didn't he say anything?" she asked angrily.

"Because he feels guilty, not only for what he's done, but also for the pain that he's caused you. Right now Daylen Amell is a man with a death wish. I am certain that he will successfully lead the others to the top of Fort Drakon, but I doubt that he will await our arrival before challenging the Archdemon. He will also most likely suffer many injuries that he'd normally manage to avoid due to his current emotional state. He still intends to slay the creature himself and to most likely die in the endeavor, regardless of the ritual. Elissa, I can't claim to know Daylen as well as you, Aedan, or Neria, but I do know how much he loves you. The knowledge that he's hurt you, the most important thing in his life, has driven him over the edge. He doesn't believe that he deserves your forgiveness and has therefore chosen not to clarify things, but I consider you both friends and...I can't simply stand by and watch this continue." Theron explained quietly.

Elissa stood silently for a long time as she considered everything that Theron had just told her. Knowing that Daylen had been with the witch did indeed hurt her and she was still quite upset with him. But knowing his reasons did help ease her pain, if only a little. Despite everything, she still loved Daylen, with every fiber of her being. And she'd be damned if the idiot would get to walk away from everything by dying.

"Theron, let's go save my stupid boyfriend." Elissa finally said as a small smile appeared on her face.

Theron returned the smile and nodded just as the others approached. "Are you two ready?" Darrian asked.

"Yes, I believe we are." Theron replied pleasantly.

"Good, we have to hurry. Daylen and the others are probably halfway up the fort by now." Aedan joked.

"That ring that Shianni gave you really does compliment the one that we found in the Brecilian Forest, Darrian." Neria remarked while examining the rings that Darrian was currently wearing.

"Yeah, it does. I think they're part of a set. Makes sense, the Dawn Ring going with the Dusk Ring." Darrian replied casually.

"Just wait until Zevran hears that she gave you a ring." Aedan teased.

"What do you mean?" Darrian asked, clearly confused.

His friends simply shook their heads as they all proceeded towards the palace district. As they made their way forward, a grisly scene awaited them. Lying in a pool of blood, was none other than Riordan.

"Damn!" Aedan muttered.

"We have to hurry!" Elissa added impatiently.

She was certain that Daylen and the others knew and that Daylen would be even more motivated to face the Archdemon alone. As they made their way further and up several steps, they quickly noticed the results of a great deal of havoc having been unleashed. There were darkspawn corpses of all kinds littering the area and more than a few were decorating the walls and roofs of several nearby buildings.

"Daylen's doing, no doubt." Aedan commented after surveying the destruction.

"I hope he's at least pacing himself! I warned him about using storm of the century on his own!" Neria remarked irritably.

"Just wait for me you idiot!" Elissa whispered to herself desperately as they climbed the final set of stairs.

The entrance to Fort Drakon was within sight and the area was littered with even more darkspawn corpses. "Did he even bother leaving any for us?" Darrian asked incredulously as they scanned the area.

"There's your answer now!" Aedan yelled as several groups of hurlocks and genlocks began mobilizing at the base of the stairs that they'd just climbed.

Theron quickly began sniping them while Neria summoned a death cloud that immediately engulfed many of the nuisances. "We don't have time for this! Fall back to the entrance of the Fort!" Theron shouted as even more of the beasts began pouring into the area.

They all agreed and withdrew to the entrance of the fort where they were pleasantly surprised to discover several mages, including Petra, dwarven warriors and templars who quickly joined them in battle. It quickly became evident that the darkspawn were attempting to reclaim the entrance to the fort and make their way inside. More and more of the fiends began appearing and the wardens and their allies were beginning to get outnumbered. Fortunately, several more friends made a surprise appearance. Kardol arrived with a group of Legionnaires while Mithra accompanied them with several Dalish warriors. After awhile, they managed to wipe out the darkspawn incursion, but it had cost them valuable time.

"Mithra, you have my thanks." Theron said gratefully as he faced the young warrior.

"Theron, I told you before that my bow would clear your path." she replied warmly.

"Your bow isn't the only thing clearing his path." Neria added in a slightly irritable tone.

Aedan quickly cleared his throat to prevent the conversation from escalating. "So I'm guessing you guys got here not long after we did?"

"My men and I were hoping to catch up with the king after we fought our way inside the city. We met the elves along the way and decided to join up and proceed further." Kardol explained.

"I'm afraid you're all a little late." Petra said with a note of concern in her voice. "Daylen and the others have already made their way inside the fort."

"Were they alright?" Elissa quickly asked.

"Daylen was injured and honestly, I'm worried about him. From what I could tell, he's been using a tremendous amount of power and he's being more reckless than usual." she replied anxiously. "I healed him and restored his mana before they left, but..."

"We have to hurry, NOW!" Elissa shouted.

"I agree, how long ago was Daylen's group here?" Theron asked, the uneasiness in his tone was clearly evident.

"His highness and the others entered the fort less than an hour ago." one of the dwarven warriors replied.

"Alright, there's still time Elissa. We can still catch up to them." Theron said reassuringly, but he could tell that Elissa was still quite worried. "Mithra, I would like you and the others to aid in the defense of this position. We can't afford to have anymore darkspawn entering and I am certain that more than enough of them have already made their way to the upper levels." he added seriously while facing Mithra.

"Not a single one of the beasts will get by me, you have my word." Mithra replied resolutely. "And Theron...Dareth shiral." she added quietly.

Theron nodded before he and Elissa led the others inside the fort. Less than an hour separated their arrivals, but a lot of things could've happened between then and now. As the party surveyed the floor that was littered with human and darkspawn corpses alike, only one thought was on Elissa's mind. Daylen.

"Just wait for me, please!" she whispered.

As Theron observed her, his sentiments were much the same. "You haven't lost everything yet, Daylen. But if you continue this rash course of action, you undoubtedly will. Creators, give us speed!" he thought as they raced deeper into the fort.


	50. Chapter 50: The Wizard and the Dragon

Chapter 50: The Wizard and the Dragon

"Bastard!" Duran yelled as he cut down another shade. He and the others had only just entered the main floor of Fort Drakon when they encountered their first opponent who was proving to be just as annoying as it was dangerous. The genlock conjurer once again teleported across the room to safety after summoning even more shades to harass the party. The fiend had been conjuring a never-ending wave of shades while also avoiding all attempts to harm it by teleporting away before Daylen or Alistair could use their abilities against it.

"I've had enough of this." Daylen added coldly before transforming into a swarm of insects that proceeded to wreak havoc on the assembled shades. Although the damage that he dealt to the creatures was significant, that hadn't been his goal. After witnessing several of its shades fall, the genlock conjurer reappeared once more to replenish their numbers. After it revealed itself, Daylen quickly returned to human form and trapped it inside a force field.

"I'll deal with the rest of these shades, Alistair be ready to nail that bastard as soon as the force field wears off, Duran, Natia, back him up!" Daylen commanded as he drew all of the shades towards him. As they approached, Daylen released a fireball followed by a shock spell that quickly decimated the small horde of attackers. Meanwhile, Alistair unleashed a holy smite against the genlock conjurer right as the force field holding the beast faded. Duran and Natia were both eager to exploit the creature's momentary vulnerability and immediately cut it down with simultaneous assault and punisher combos. Afterwards, they all scanned their surroundings to make sure that all of the beast's shades had been dealt with.

"Maker, we've never encountered an emissary like that before." Alistair remarked, with a note of exhaustion, after the fight.

"It won't be the last. We'll probably be running across the most powerful of the darkspawn forces as we climb the fort." Daylen replied calmly. "They'll all be dead soon enough." he added coldly.

"Duran, I'm worried about him." Natia whispered as Daylen and Alistair compared possible strategies for dealing with future emissaries.

"I know, this isn't like him." Duran replied. "At the rate he's going, he'll either burn himself out or worse." he added with a note of concern.

"I just wish I knew what the problem was. Is it the situation with the Archdemon?" Natia wondered aloud.

"That's definitely part of it, but something else is definitely going on. Right now, we can't afford to obsess over it. All we can do is try to make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Duran said wisely. "And back him up once we reach the Archdemon." he added solemnly.

"Duran, what the hell are you-"

"Daylen has no intention of waiting for the others. When Riordan mentioned splitting into two teams, he probably saw his chance. On top of that, he made sure to put Elissa, Neria and Aedan in a separate group. He knew that they'd be the ones who'd likely stand in his way. One of the reasons that he's rushing definitely has to do with reaching the Archdemon before the others and trying to finish it off first." Duran explained quietly.

"That sodding moron! If he gets himself killed or makes the sacrifice...Elissa...Duran how could we face her?" Natia asked desperately.

"I don't know and right now, I don't want to think about it. Like I said before, we'll just have to do what we can to look out for him. Ultimately, killing the Archdemon is our goal and we have to achieve it, regardless of the sacrifice." Duran replied sadly.

Natia trembled at the thought of one of them dying and the closer they got to the top of the fort, the more real the possibility became. Duran wrapped his arms around her as she cursed under her breath. A few moments later the group was once again making their way further into the fort. As they entered a nearby hall, they were immediately attacked by yet another advanced darkspawn spell caster. The genlock shapechanger quickly transformed into a bereskarn and advanced on the party while a nearby hurlock emisssary fired a chain lightning spell as a small army of corpses began swarming them from all directions.

Daylen reacted instantly by raising a spell shield that absorbed the lightning before firing an anti-magic burst that reverted the shapechanger to its original form. He then killed both with a mana clash while the others cut down the corpses. Afterwards, they made their way further into the fort and eventually reached a room that held a set of stairs that led to the next level.

The next level of the fort proved to be a challenge not just because of the opposition that the group faced, but also because of the maze-like layout of the floor itself. In their attempts to navigate the rather confusing area, they ended up walking into an ambush by nearly two dozen genlock archers and a genlock alpha.

"We just can't get a break, can we?" Alistair lamented wryly as he and Duran adopted their shield cover stances to guard against the onslaught of arrows.

"Maybe not, but neither can they." Daylen replied coldly after erecting an arcane shield and making his way towards their attackers.

"Daylen, what the hell are you doing?!" Natia shouted while fighting the alpha.

"Taking out the trash." he replied apathetically as several arrows grazed him. He then released a chain lightning spell that decimated the archers and followed up with a shock spell that finished off the stragglers.

After the battle, Daylen was visibly injured. His shield hadn't been able to protect him from all of the arrows and several had successfully punctured his body in several areas. As his blood trickled onto the floor, Natia became livid.

"HEAL YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!" she shouted angrily.

"We don't have time and it's not serious." Daylen replied in an unconcerned manner.

"Daylen, we aren't taking another step further until you heal yourself! I don't care if I have to force feed you a health poultice myself!" Natia fumed as she glared at the young mage.

"Mend your injuries, Daylen. You aren't doing anyone any favors by ignoring them." Duran added seriously as he and Alistair both faced Daylen.

Daylen took a moment to stare at them all before finally relenting and casting a heal spell on himself. "Happy? Now can we please get back to stopping this damn Blight or is there a paper cut I should be worrying about?" he replied bitterly before leading the way back into the maze of hallways that they'd been traversing.

"You stupid son of a-"

"Leave it Natia. Let's keep going." Duran cut in. They had to keep moving, but Duran understood how she was feeling. It was more than obvious that Daylen didn't give a damn about what happened to himself at the moment and he wasn't sure how much longer they'd be able to reign him in.

As they continued through the halls, Natia eventually noticed several traps that she quickly disarmed. As they continued, they were quickly ambushed by a genlock master assassin and its followers. The creatures proved to be incredibly lethal as they slipped into the shadows and executed precise strikes as they reappeared before disappearing once more before the group could counterattack. Natia quickly engaged the genlock master assassin when it once again revealed itself in preparation for a strike against Daylen, who was the most vulnerable at the moment. Both Duran and Alistair had their hands full simply fending off the repeated strikes from the other genlock assassins who were seemingly disappearing and reappearing at random as they took advantage of the many shadows that filled the hallway.

As Natia battled the creature, she knew that she had to end things as quickly as possible so that she could help the others before they suffered too much damage. When the beast attempted a dual strike with its daggers, she saw her chance and quickly released a dirty fighting attack that stunned it while following up with a riposte and a string of dual strikes. As the creature fell over dead, she quickly turned her attention back to the others who to her surprise, appeared to be fine. Duran had knocked the other assassins off of their feet with a war cry when they had attempted to launch another ambush from the shadows and Daylen and Alistair had been quick to take advantage of the opening.

After stepping over the bodies of the now dead genlock assassins, the party continued to a massive room that held a door that led to the roof of Fort Drakon where the Archdemon awaited them. The room also held an emissary and two ogres who immediately attacked. Daylen quickly killed the emissary with a mana clash before tearing one of the ogres apart with a crushing prison. He blasted the final ogre with a stonefist that staggered the beast and finished it off with an inferno. Afterwards, they all made their way towards the steps that laid beneath the massive door that would lead to the final battle.

"Alright, we're finally here." Daylen said resolutely as he faced the door. His mind was made up and there was no turning back now. "I want you three to wait here for the others while I do what I can to wear this bastard down and hopefully kill it. When everyone else gets here, tell Elissa that I...never mind. I want you to know that it's been an honor fighting with you guys and I'm proud to call each of you friend." Daylen added quietly.

"Really? You honestly expect us to just let you walk off and face the Archdemon alone?" Natia asked seriously.

"Daylen, even if you happened to be in your normal state of mind we wouldn't allow this. Now let's get this done, together." Duran added seriously.

"You heard them, Daylen. So lead the way." Alistair said as he faced Daylen.

Daylen had expected this, it was a possibility that he'd considered when he split them into groups. Duran and Alistair stood the best chance of surviving, given their endurance. He would have preferred to have Natia stay behind, but he knew that she'd never abandon Duran. He could only hope that she would remain safe. With any luck they'd be able to settle things before Elissa and the others arrived. After looking at his friends for several moments, Daylen finally released a sigh.

"Damn you all. Here take this and start applying some of it before we go." Daylen said as he handed each of them a greater spirit balm. "Neria and I started crafting these not long after we saw the Archdemon in the Deep Roads. We're pretty sure that it breaths spirit flames and that makes the damn thing even more dangerous. The balm should help guard against its breath attacks, but they'll still be risky." he explained.

The others quickly applied the balm before once again facing the door. "Well, let's get to it." Daylen said as he led the way to the roof. The scene that met them was absolute carnage as the Archdemon tore apart the few soldiers who'd survived the darkspawn onslaught. The beast was surrounded by a veritable sea of darkspawn who would prove to be more than a mere nuisance.

"Alright, time to do some cleaning. I'll wipe out as many of these bastards as possible, once I do make your way towards the Archdemon, but be careful. I'm pretty sure it can still take flight, at least for short distances." Daylen advised.

The others drew their weapons and readied themselves for battle as Daylen activated his spell might. He then summoned a blizzard followed by a tempest creating the all too familiar and powerful storm of the century spell combination which quickly tore through the darkspawn and the Archdemon itself. The beast was quick to take flight and escape the worst of the storm while its underlings were consumed and destroyed by the destruction. It immediately landed in front of Daylen and the others before expressing its rage with the most soul chilling roar they'd ever heard.

Undaunted, Daylen faced the beast, ready to initiate the fight of his life. "I'm sorry, did I just wipe out your flunkies? I guess that must've really pissed you off, huh?" Daylen said sarcastically before blasting the creature with a barrage of spells that included winter's grasp, lightning, stonefist and arcane bolts.

While the beast was distracted, Duran and Alistair began their own attacks while Natia sank her daggers into one of the creature's legs. Daylen continued firing spells, determined to keep the Archdemon's attention focused on him. Before long, the Archdemon released an incredibly powerful breath attack that engulfed everyone. Fortunately, the balm was doing its job and both Daylen and Alistair had additional protection in the form of the Ring of Ages and Juggernaut armor, respectively.

Daylen quickly healed Duran and Natia while Alistair closed in on the beast and slammed his shield into the side of its face. He followed up with an assault combo that simply grazed the monster's face, annoying it. The creature then grabbed Alistair and slammed him beneath its immense claws, leaving a large indentation in the ground as it did so.

"Damn!" Daylen yelled before firing another stonefist spell.

Duran was the next to close in, but was quickly cut off by several approaching genlocks. As he engaged them in battle, Natia once again got the drop on the Archdemon and sank her daggers into the beast's other leg. It once again roared in rage before brutally whipping Natia with its tail. The force of the attack sent her flying across the battlefield while Duran found himself surrounded by even more genlocks.

"BASTARD!" he roared before releasing a war cry that knocked all of the genlocks off of their feet. Afterwards, he bolted towards the Archdemon as Daylen wiped out the fallen genlocks with a fireball. Unfortunately, a nearby shriek quickly tackled him while even more of the fiends swarmed him. It was quickly becoming evident that more darkspawn were joining the fray, despite Daylen's best efforts.

"Damn you monsters!" Daylen muttered. "Hang on Duran!" he added before killing several approaching hurlocks with a flame blast.

As Duran struggled to fight his way through the swarm, he was suddenly engulfed in an explosion. Daylen quickly turned to discover that the Archdemon was somehow detonating the shrieks who were swarming Duran.

"NO!" he yelled before erecting a force field around Duran. The force field managed to protect him from the rest of the explosions, but the initial blast had done its job.

Daylen was alone now, his friends defeated and scattered across the battlefield. "Alright, you and me." he said coldly as the Archdemon released another sea of purple flames that Daylen narrowly avoided.

He quickly took notice of the darkspawn who were massing all over the rooftop and knew that he couldn't allow the beast to have any more ammunition. He then unleashed an inferno, blizzard and tempest in three different directions around the Archdemon. The spells decimated the darkspawn reinforcements and sealed the creature's movements, almost. The beast could only go in one direction or risk suffering severe damage from Daylen's spells. It quickly made its way towards Daylen, who was waiting with a cone of cold spell. As several areas of the Archdemon's body became brittle, Daylen unleashed a crushing prison spell that shattered several spots, creating a series of vicious wounds that enraged the creature.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Daylen remarked coldly before firing a stonefist followed by a shock spell.

The Archdemon roared in pain and quickly attempted to grab Daylen who promptly ducked and instead grabbed hold of the creature's claw himself before leaping onto the beast's neck. His spell might was still active and he intended to make good use of the added power. He immediately unleashed a shock spell followed by a cone of cold. The Archdemon was livid, but couldn't seem to shake Daylen from its body. Daylen then activated rock armor and with his now hardened skin, he proceeded to punch the frozen areas of the Archdemon's back.

The beast had had enough at this point and began taking flight. As it soared across the rooftop with Daylen still attacking it, the wall to the fort came into view. Daylen noticed that the creature appeared to be heading straight for it, "You wouldn't!" he yelled before bracing himself for the impact.

Meanwhile Elissa, Theron and the others had just reached the top level of Fort Drakon. They hadn't met any resistance along the way and they were certain that it was due to Daylen and the others. They'd discovered the corpses of several emissaries, ogres and other dangerous ilk on their way there and it didn't take much guesswork to realize what had happened. As the room that housed the door to the roof came into view, they quickly noticed that it was empty. Daylen and the others had certainly beaten them there and were no doubt battling the Archdemon at that very moment.

"Why wouldn't they wait for us?!" Neria asked desperately.

"Because Daylen is stupid, reckless and...Theron we have to hurry!" Elissa cried.

As they ran towards the door, there was suddenly a crash that shook the fort itself. They all looked up to discover the Archdemon careening through the wall with what appeared to be a person clutching at its neck. The creature then smashed through the opposite wall as they all quickly identified the person as Daylen who was still blasting the creature with spells as they plowed through the debris.

After a few moments of awed silence they all snapped back to reality. "Is he insane?!" Darrian asked incredulously.

"That crazy...If he survives this, I'll kill him myself!" Aedan snapped.

"Daylen, what are you thinking?!" Neria asked in a hushed voice.

"We must hurry, he won't last long at this rate!" Theron shouted.

As they continued towards the door, they were dismayed to find a pile of debris blocking the way. "Dammit! Now what do we-"

Before Darrian could finish his thought, Elissa stepped forward with her swords drawn and her rage building. "A little pile of rubble won't stop me from reaching that idiot. You hear me Daylen!? If you die before I get there, I'll never forgive you!" she yelled before proceeding to tear through the wreckage.

Back on the roof, Daylen found himself shaken, but otherwise unharmed. He'd managed to position himself so that the Archdemon absorbed the brunt of their little fiasco. The beast was however, also unscathed and had achieved its goal of removing Daylen. Both man and beast rose to their feet from the wreckage that they'd brought down and faced one another once more. As the two glared at each other, the Archdemon attempted to use another breath attack. Daylen immediately fired a string of arcane bolts into the beast's mouth right as it prepared its attack. The result was an explosion within the creature's mouth that prevented its assault from going further. As the beast swayed slightly from the shock, Daylen quickly took advantage with a tempest spell that damaged it even more. As the spell faded, Daylen began closing in on the creature.

"I expected better, you know?" he said derisively as he advanced on the beast. "Old God my ass, I've fought high dragons who were tougher than you." he added mockingly.

The Archdemon simply stared at him contemptuously as he continued his advance before finally whipping its tail around and slamming it into Daylen who was sent flying across the battlefield. After crashing into the ground, he quickly noticed several large pieces of debris flying at him. The creature was tossing pieces of the rubble at him. Daylen quickly erected an arcane shield and maneuvered between the falling hazards as they broke apart on the ground and left several holes.

"I'm not impressed you bastard!" Daylen yelled as he struggled to avoid the barrage.

He eventually found himself surrounded by wreckage while the Archdemon itself appeared to have vanished. Before long he heard a familiar roar from overhead and looked up to find the monster hovering above him. The creature gave him one final look of loathing before releasing five balls of concentrated purple flames that immediately homed in on Daylen before exploding.

The force of the blast sent tremors through the fort. As the smoke cleared around the point of impact, the body of a young mage covered in debris instantly became visible. The Archdemon quickly landed nearby, eager to tear his remains to shreds. As the beast approached, a searing pain instantly shot through its body as a pair of swords cut into its side. The monster promptly turned to discover an angry young woman carving her way through its hide. The beast retreated slightly as she positioned herself between it and the mage.

"I'M GOING TO END YOU!" she roared while radiating what appeared to be pure, unbridled fury. She was quickly joined by several more warriors. The next round was about to begin.


	51. Chapter 51: Hope Amidst Despair

Chapter 51: Hope Amidst Despair

"Daylen, you have to hold on!" Neria pleaded as she struggled to heal the fallen mage. It was proving to be a seemingly impossible endeavor given how serious his condition appeared to be and how persistent the darkspawn were. Theron was doing what he could to keep the monsters at bay, but their numbers were steadily growing and the others had their hands full fighting the Archdemon.

Elissa in particular was in full berserker mode and demonstrating even more ferocity than usual. The Archdemon had already attempted to engage her in close quarters and paid dearly. The beast was covered in wounds made by Elissa's exquisite pair of swords, her brute strength and her unrelenting ruthlessness. Her brutal offensive against the beast was the biggest obstacle to its attempts at finishing off Daylen. Aedan had taken it upon himself to head off any darkspawn reinforcements that the Archdemon could use as fodder against them. They had already bore witness to the the fact that it could detonate the creatures if they were close enough to it when it attempted such a strategy against Aedan, who fortunately, managed to guard against the brunt of the blast while using his shield wall stance. Darrian had his hands full fighting his way to Duran, Natia and Alistair, who were only just recovering.

As Elissa continued her assault against the Archdemon, it suddenly took flight and began bombarding the battlefield with a barrage of purple flames. They were all caught in the ensuing explosions, with the exception of Neria, who had erected a shimmering shield to protect herself and Daylen. She'd distributed greater spirit balms to everyone shortly before their arrival, but the beast's breath attacks were still proving to be quite devastating. Following the rain of carnage, the Archdemon settled onto a nearby rooftop, well out of reach. It was clearly taking an opportunity to recover its strength while the hordes of darkspawn who were now flooding the battlefield did its dirty work.

"You coward!" Elissa yelled as she annihilated a small squad of hurlocks.

"The bastard is trying to have his minions wear us down!" Aedan added angrily as he cut through a trio of genlocks.

But it was quickly becoming evident that the Archdemon's goal was far more insidious as Elissa noticed the bulk of the beasts heading towards Daylen, whose only protection at the moment was Theron. As Neria continued her attempts to restore Daylen, she quickly noticed the approaching horde.

"You won't! I WON'T LET YOU!" she shouted as she stood. She then placed a glyph of repulsion around Daylen as she prepared herself for battle. Afterwards, she activated her combat magic, rock armor and haste while also summoning a spell wisp. Neria had no intention of holding back and immediately summoned an earthquake that floored the advancing darkspawn. She followed up by hitting the creatures with an affliction hex and finally a death cloud. As the darkspawn fell dead, she quickly focused her attention on another wave that was approaching. She promptly put them all to sleep, killed the leader of the group with a horror spell and turned the rest against each other with a waking nightmare. In no time at all, she'd cleared the battlefield, at least for the moment.

"Neria, are you alright?" Theron asked as he faced her. She had just fired several powerful spells in rapid succession while maintaining a number of other powerful effects and the Dalish warrior knew that she was pushing herself to the limit.

"I'm fine, Theron. Don't worry." she replied reassuringly. "And no matter what, we can't let them get to Daylen." she added resolutely.

"Don't worry, they won't." Elissa announced as she and Aedan approached the scene. "Neria, I'll take over. You and Theron should focus on hitting that monster before it can recover." she added sternly.

"But, Elissa-"

"No arguments, with Daylen down...anyway, you and Theron are the only ranged attackers we have right now. We can't let that bastard rest anymore than it already has. Now go!" Elissa ordered.

Neria appeared as though she wanted to argue, but Theron placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She turned to face him and quietly relented and they quickly set off towards the edge of the rooftop to begin their assault against the Archdemon.

"I'll help them out, I think see a few things we could use to even the odds a bit more." Aedan said after scanning the rooftop. "Take care of Daylen." he added gently before departing.

After watching them all leave, Elissa got to her knees and stared down at Daylen. His battle with the Archdemon had clearly taken its toll, he was covered in blood and bruises and the sight of him brought Elissa to the verge of tears. "Why couldn't you just wait for us, for me? And why didn't you try explaining everything about Morrigan? Did you think I wouldn't understand? That I'd still be upset? Well, I am, dammit! I love you and I always will! And I don't want you to be with anyone but me! But as much as I'm hurting right now, I can still move forward, as long as you're with me. Do you hear me? Theron said that you don't believe that you deserve my forgiveness, but you're wrong! If any man on Thedas deserves a second chance, it's you. So hurry up and come back to me."

After confessing her feelings with all of the passion in her heart, Elissa gently kissed Daylen before standing once more to face yet another horde of darkspawn. "And you bastards won't be getting in our way." she added coldly as she drew her swords and prepared to face the creatures.

Meanwhile, both Theron and Neria had begun their assault against the Archdemon. Theron had fired a shattering shot and was now unleashing a constant volley of rapid shots while Neria summoned a death cloud. The Archdemon retaliated by firing several balls of flame at them as it soared to another rooftop perch. Theron continued to fire arrows while Neria blasted the creature with stonefist and stinging swarm spells. As the Archdemon prepared to once again counterattack, it found itself injured by the firing of a nearby ballistae. Aedan was now adding his support to the attack against the creature by manning the various war machines that were lining the edges of the rooftop. The Archdemon quickly became livid and took flight once more before circling the top of the fort and systematically destroying all of the ballistae with an aerial bombardment of fireballs before landing once more on top of the fort.

Nearly all of the wardens had gathered together to face the beast. Duran, Natia and Alistair had recovered and joined Aedan, Theron and Neria as they surrounded the creature. Darrian arrived to join them just as the assault began. Duran, Aedan and Alistair each struck the beast's head with their shields. Being hit from three different directions simultaneously momentarily stunned the creature, and Natia was quick to take advantage by scurrying up the beast's leg and executing an impressive bit of acrobatics that culminated in a massive backstab with her daggers that severely wounded the Archdemon.

As she leapt from the beast, it immediately tried to lash out with its tail but found that it had been pinned to the ground with Darrian's sword. "Sorry, we heard about that little trick of yours." he remarked coldly as the beast roared in rage.

Theron continued to pelt it with arrows while Neria relentlessly slashed at its body causing significant damage. Infuriated by the combined might of the wardens, the Archdemon made a massive sweep with its entire body, knocking all of the young warriors onto the ground. It then soared into the air once more and summoned another small army of darkspawn. The creatures quickly surrounded the group and began attacking. But the Archdemon wasn't finished, not by a long shot. It detonated several of the fiends, once again injuring several of the wardens, including Alistair and Darrian. It then summoned even more darkspawn and executed its most powerful and sinister attack yet. It created a massive vortex of purple flames that drew everyone to its center and inflicted a massive amount of pain. As the wardens struggled to escape the merciless attack, they quickly noticed that the horde of darkspawn who were also caught in the vortex, appeared to be unaffected. Not only that, the damned thing was actually healing them.

Bolstered by the wardens' suffering and their near inability to defend themselves, the creatures immediately initiated an assault against the party. "No!" Neria yelled before creating an earthquake that halted the beasts' progress. "Theron, you have to stop it! Your armor should keep you safe from the worst of this evil!" she added desperately.

It was true, the ancient elven armor along with the balm that Neria had given him earlier pretty much insured that Theron was the only who was still standing at the moment. "Neria, I can't abandon you to these beasts!" he replied angrily.

"You have to, otherwise we'll all be killed! I can at least keep the darkspawn off balance until we can kill them, but as long as the Archdemon is maintaining this mess, that won't be possible. Now go!" she commanded. "I haven't forgotten our promise and you've never broken one to me. So don't start now." she added softly.

Theron stared at Neria for a few moments before quickly turning away and struggling through the vortex of flames. After finally freeing himself, he quickly took aim at the ruthless creature that now hovered above him. He then fired a shattering shot followed by a critical shot, both arrows found their way into the Archdemon's chest and sent the beast crashing back down to the earth. After falling, the creature's vortex against the others instantly ceased. Theron immediately closed in on the Archdemon, firing a scattering shot to deal with a group of hurlocks who were heading towards Elissa, who was still protecting Daylen from several waves of aggressors. As he made his way towards the beast, he was surprised to see that it wasn't as mortally injured as he originally believed.

"Of course. A heartless monster like you can't be defeated by an attack to the chest." Theron remarked coldly before entering an aim stance and firing several powerful shots from his bow into the beast's hide.

The Archdemon was infuriated and quickly attempted to obliterate Theron in a sea of purple flames. Theron simply stood his ground and continued to fire as the flames engulfed him. As the fiery onslaught subsided, the figure of a Dalish warrior could be seen reflected in the creature's eyes right before an arrow punctured one of them. The beast roared in pain as Theron continued his offensive. This was his chance, whether Morrigan's ritual worked or not, Theron would have no regrets...except for leaving Neria.

He continued his advance, when suddenly the Archdemon released another breath attack. Theron once again ignored it, but was quickly caught off guard when a massive claw reached into the purple inferno and grabbed him. The monster began crushing his body as it glared at him contemptuously with its one remaining eye.

"Forgive me, Neria." Theron said hoarsely as his vision began fading.

"Release him, NOW!" Neria yelled as she closed in on the Archdemon from across the battlefield. Her haste spell had sped her movements up considerably and she was desperately hoping that she could reach Theron in time.

As she got closer, she quickly summoned a stinging swarm and sent it into the Archdemon's face. The creature promptly dropped Theron as it struggled against the insects that were assaulting its wounds. Neria arrived just in time to catch the Dalish warrior, who was fortunately still breathing.

"Sorry, I almost broke our promise." he said weakly as he stared into Neria's eyes.

"I'll have to scold you later." she replied softly before embracing him.

The situation was slowly starting to deteriorate as the others struggled to not only recover from the Archdemon's vortex attack, but also deal with the small army of darkspawn that it had summoned. Elissa was the only one who was still in peak fighting form, but she was gradually becoming exhausted by the relentless waves of darkspawn who seemed determined to kill Daylen. After the Archdemon finally recovered from Neria's attack, it took flight once more and made its way to another nearby rooftop before again summoning a horde of darkspawn.

"DAMN YOU!" Darrian yelled as he fought a trio of hurlocks.

"The bastard is trying to give itself time to recover from Theron's attack!" Duran added angrily as he killed a pair of genlocks.

"That's not all it's doing! Look!" Natia shouted after backstabbing a shriek.

"Son of a...ELISSA! DAYLEN!" Aedan roared after seeing that most of the new darkspawn who'd entered the battlefield were now heading towards his sister and best friend.

Unfortunately, neither he nor any of the others were in a position to help. They were completely surrounded and on the brink of being overwhelmed themselves. Neria had her hands full protecting Theron across the battlefield and was clearly being pushed to her limit. As Elissa fought against the ruthless rush of darkspawn, her one pervasive thought was remaining with Daylen, no matter what. As she was pushed further back and closer to the man that she loved who still remained unconscious, she couldn't help but feel a sense of peace.

"No matter what, we'll be together you idiot." she whispered right before the darkspawn swarmed the pair.

As Daylen sat in front of the fire in camp, surrounded by his friends while holding Elissa, he felt that he couldn't be more content. They were all safe and Elissa was happy, he couldn't ask for more. But as satisfied as he was at the moment, he knew that it wasn't real. He decided to take in the sight one final time before standing.

"Alright you bastards, reveal yourselves." he demanded coldly.

"Daylen, what's wrong?" Elissa asked.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it." Daylen replied before blasting Elissa with a lightning spell. As the young woman fell to her death, she quickly revealed herself to be a demon in disguise.

Daylen immediately summoned a tempest that exposed the other demons in disguise before promptly destroying them. The entire campsite then warped and twisted itself away, revealing the very familiar spectacle of the fade.

"I told you it wouldn't work." a deep voice said.

"I gave him everything that would've subverted his will. This one just happens to be more clever than most." a lazy voice replied.

"Too bad, now it's my turn" a feminine voice eagerly added.

"You're wasting your time, he has not only refused your kind in the past, he's destroyed them." the deep voice remarked.

"Well, I happen to be more charming. Besides, I can offer him something that his heart is yearning for at the moment." the feminine voice replied.

"I want to make this perfectly clear. I want nothing to do with any of you and I won't surrender my will to any of your ilk." Daylen announced firmly.

"Are you certain of that mortal?" the feminine voice asked. Moments later she appeared before him in the form of Elissa. "This is what you desire, correct? I can mend the rift between the two of you. You need only let me-"

"Be gone! I got her on my own and I lost her on my own! Now LEAVE!" Daylen demanded.

The creature disguised as Elissa gave him one final look of anger before promptly disappearing. "I warned you." the deep voice chided.

"This mortal's will, it annoys me." the feminine voice commented irritably.

"It is now time for my turn." the deep voice announced.

"What for? Haven't you encountered him before during that Harrowing thing they do? I doubt he'll accept any bargain from you, unless you plan to force your way in." the feminine voice remarked casually.

"No. I will offer him what he needs the most at the moment." the deep voice replied.

Moments later, the familiar and terrifying form of a pride demon was standing before Daylen. It seemed to radiate a familiar aura.

"We meet again mouse." Daylen said calmly as he faced the creature.

"You remembered? Or did my compatriot's incessant chattering simply give it away? At any rate, it has been awhile mortal, for you anyway. You have accomplished a great deal since we last met and grown quite powerful. We know of your battles with the denizens here and the Uldred creature. Impressive, for a mortal. But as powerful as you are, the Archdemon has still managed to defeat you." Mouse remarked casually.

"Let me guess, you're here to offer me more power?" Daylen replied.

"You've sacrificed so much and received so little. You deserve victory, after all you're the greatest mage in your circle and with me, you can become the greatest in all of Thedas." Mouse said enticingly.

"You bastards must not have heard me before, I want nothing you offer, ever! Now LEAVE!" Daylen yelled.

"Fool! You'll die having achieved nothing and so will the foolish mortals who follow you!" Mouse roared.

"What are you talking about?" Daylen asked irritably.

"Your friends battle the Archdemon as we speak and it isn't going well for them." Mouse replied coldly.

"That's an understatement." the feminine voice added mockingly.

"As you are now mortal, you will fail and die along with the others. Accept my gift and become something greater, something capable of more." Mouse offered.

"Uldred made that offer too and you know what my answer to him was. I have sacrificed a lot, maybe too much...but that's what being a Grey Warden is all about, sacrifice. And I'll never claim to be the greatest mage anywhere, there's still a lot more for me to learn and gain and I'll do it ON MY OWN. As for my friends, they'll get the job done, with or without my help. Now for the last time, be gone, all of you!" Daylen shouted and in doing so his will began to manifest into a brilliant energy that banished Mouse and silenced his companions. Afterwards, Daylen found the space around him warp once more before revealing a solitary road.

"Bastards can't even let me die in peace." Daylen muttered to himself as he proceeded to walk down the road.

After awhile, he started to hear a strange banging sound that seemed to get closer and louder as he continued down the road. The path eventually opened into a clearing that held a forge and yet another familiar denizen of the fade.

"Hello, Valor." Daylen said as he made his way towards the forge.

"Greetings mortal, we meet again!" Valor replied enthusiastically.

"I don't suppose you know what I'm doing here, do you?" Daylen asked.

"That happens to be a fairly complicated question to answer, at least well enough for you to understand." Valor replied before turning his attention back to his forge.

"Great, just great. So am I dead or what? Can you at least tell me that? Based on the last thing I remember and what those demons said, I'd have to assume that I am or at least on my way there. Of course, I don't trust anything that demons say, so that puts me in kind of a bind." Daylen pondered aloud.

"I must congratulate you on not succumbing to their temptations. Given the battle that you are currently facing and the recent troubles that you've experienced, I was slightly concerned." Valor said courteously.

"No offense, but why would you care? It was my understanding that spirits don't concern themselves with the affairs of mortals." Daylen remarked curiously.

"Demons aren't the only ones with eyes on you mortal. It is rare for my kind to encounter a mortal who embodies so many of our virtues and so few of the demons' sins. I was actually elected by my fellows to speak with you given our history together." Valor replied earnestly.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Valor. I'm not the least bit virtuous. I don't have any compassion, if I did maybe I'd be a spirit healer. I'm not valorous either and I'm not a beacon of justice. I've said before that I'm a faithless bastard and...well I can't imagine a spirit of hope having an interest in the likes of me." Daylen explained.

"Only one of your statements is accurate mortal and you have already proven your valor to me. You accepted my duel during your Harrowing and proved yourself an honorable combatant." Valor replied proudly.

"So I'm valorous, sometimes. I still don't know why I'm here." Daylen said in an exhausted tone.

"Once you awake, you will once again find yourself in the middle of battle. You have already come very close to thoroughly exhausting your essence and if you persist once you return, you will not likely survive. As I mentioned before, my fellows and I have grown accustomed to observing your actions. It would be somewhat disappointing to see your journey end now. There are even those among us who are considering lending you their assistance." Valor explained.

"I'm afraid that I'll have to refuse that assistance. I love Wynne, but I have no intention of following her example. If I can't sustain my life on my own, so be it." Daylen replied firmly.

Valor observed Daylen for awhile before once again returning to work at his forge. "Personally, I admire your decision. But your death will undoubtedly upset your companions, especially the mortal who is bearing her soul to you as we speak."

At that moment Daylen could hear Elissa and as he listened to her confession, her forgiveness and her desire for them to continue to be together, he suddenly felt a surge of strength. He knew that it would take him awhile to get back, but he was determined to return in time to help everyone. "Valor, despite the circumstances, it was good to see you again." Daylen said as he began focusing his will to navigate his way out of the fade. "Oh, and tell your friends to stop watching me. It's creepy." Daylen added humorously before disappearing in a beam of intense light.

Valor observed the young mage's departure and then returned to his forge. Moments later, several translucent lights appeared behind him. "We will simply have to wait and see, unless you plan to intervene?" he remarked quietly before turning to face the largest of the lights.

There were now dozens of darkspawn swarming Elissa and she found herself desperately struggling to fend them off of Daylen's body. As they began to overwhelm her, she glanced down at Daylen with tears in her eyes. "I love you, Daylen!" she shouted as the fiends overran her.

"ELISSA!" Aedan yelled desperately from across the battlefield as several hurlocks surrounded him.

Suddenly, a colossal shockwave was released in the center of the mass of darkspawn who had swarmed Elissa and Daylen. The creatures were sent flying in all directions as Daylen rose to his feet holding a teary eyed Elissa.

"I love you more." Daylen announced before kissing her. He then surveyed the war zone and identified the Archdemon, who was perched on a nearby rooftop. "Time to get to work!" he added resolutely.


	52. Chapter 52: Finale

Chapter 52: Finale

"Man, I take one little nap and everything almost falls apart." Daylen joked as he healed Elissa.

"Damn you!" she cried before kissing him.

After they finally separated, Daylen immediately shifted his focus to the battlefield. "So, are you ready to make these bastards pay for screwing with us?" he asked calmly.

"Definitely!" Elissa replied energetically.

Shortly afterwards, Daylen hurled a fireball into the mass of darkspawn who were reconvening nearby. He then summoned an inferno that decimated the reinforcements that were attempting to overwhelm them. Satisfied with the devastation he'd just caused, Daylen then transformed into a swarm of insects and flew to where Aedan, Duran, Natia, Alistair and Darrian were struggling to battle a small army of darkspawn. He quickly wreaked havoc on the darkspawn forces before flying back across the battlefield to Neria and Theron's location. After returning to human form he activated his spell might and released a powered up heal spell on Theron, who immediately felt the effects. The Dalish warrior quickly got to his feet and joined Neria and Daylen in their fight against the darkspawn horde that was advancing toward them.

Daylen quickly blasted the creatures with a chain lightning spell while Neria summoned a stinging swarm and Theron fired a scattering shot. As the battlefield started clear, the wardens all began gathering around Daylen whose return provided a much needed boost to morale.

"Had a good rest I hope?" Duran joked.

"It's so nice that you could take a nap while the rest of us were fighting for our lives." Darrian added sarcastically.

"Hey, I figured you could handle it." Daylen replied with an equal amount of sarcasm while grinning.

"It is good to have you back Daylen." Theron said sincerely while Neria hugged Daylen.

"When this is all over, I'm going to have a few choice words for you." Natia added while playfully shoving him.

"I'm just going to kick your ass." Aedan interjected before locking hands with his friend while smiling.

"Daylen, it's good to have you back. Sorry about the mess, but you know, darkspawn laying siege and all..." Alistair joked.

"Well, I think it's time we did something about that." Daylen replied seriously. "Neria, you're with me. Theron be ready to make that bastard pay." he added coldly.

Daylen then made his way to the edge of the roof with Neria close behind and observed the Archdemon on a nearby rooftop. The beast immediately fired a ball of purple flames that Neria quickly blocked with a shimmering shield.

"Yeah, I missed you too." Daylen remarked sarcastically. "Now Neria!" he added loudly.

Neria then hit the Archdemon with a vulnerability hex followed by an affliction hex. Daylen quickly summoned a blizzard and tempest afterwards, creating the storm of the century spell combination. The creature was quickly caught in the center of the storm and found itself unable to escape, but the two mages weren't quite finished yet. Neria then summoned a death cloud and Daylen followed up with an inferno. The Archdemon was now being battered with a slew of high level spells and the damage was being amplified by its weakened defenses thanks to the hexes. There was also the fact that Daylen's spell might was active and Neria still had her spell wisp, both effects were amplifying the power of their spells. Determined to inflict as much damage as possible while the creature was on the defensive, Daylen then blasted it with a crushing prison while Neria summoned a stinging swarm. As the combined spell effects continued to devastate the beast, they both began firing arcane bolts that added to the havoc.

After the spells finally subsided, the monster roared weakly as it struggled to take flight once again. It soared above the rooftop of Fort Drakon where Theron was waiting. He quickly took his aim stance and fired several shots into the creatures underbelly. The beast came crashing down to the surface where the others were eagerly awaiting. Elissa quickly unleashed a flurry attack while Aedan, Duran and Alistair released assault combos against the creature. Meanwhile, Natia executed a punisher combo while Darrian released a string of pinpoint strikes.

The combined attack and the results of the cumulative damage that the creature had suffered were starting to show. The Archdemon could barely stay standing and every warden there knew that the time to settle things was fast approaching. As they all closed in to finish the beast off, it once again unleashed its vortex attack, crippling all of the warriors who'd surrounded it. Theron was quick to react with a critical shot to the beast's neck which promptly ended the attack, but the others had still suffered a great deal of damage. Once again enraged by Theron's interference, the creature quickly tore a piece of wreckage from the ground and tossed it at the Dalish warrior, but not before firing a concentrated blast of purple flames at the flying piece of debris. The resulting explosion sent Theron flying over the edge of the roof, luckily he managed to grab hold of a ledge quickly enough to avoid plummeting to his death.

"Theron!" Neria shouted before bolting towards him.

Daylen kept his focus on the Archdemon. "You really like that trick don't you?" he asked coldly as he faced the beast. "Or is that just what you do when you're desperate?" he added as he approached the monster.

They were once again face to face and Daylen had every intention of ending things once and for all. As the Archdemon glared at him, it suddenly released a powerful breath attack that Daylen countered with a shock spell. As his electricity collided with the purple flames, a battle of wills ensued. Whoever succeeded in overpowering the other would win the day and Daylen was more determined than ever to end the beast. As he struggled to push the monster's flames back, he could feel his strength beginning to wane. "Sorry Valor, I guess you and your friends will have to find someone else to watch." he muttered before pouring everything he had into conquering the creature.

With one final, monumental effort, Daylen's electricity finally pushed back the Archdemon's flames and blasted through the creature's mouth. Electrical currents immediately began to tear through the beast's body from the inside out. Afterwards, the monster swayed slightly before finally falling over. Daylen then approached and blasted the creature with a crushing prison that shattered several of its bones, insuring that it wouldn't be standing again anytime soon. He then gathered every ounce of arcane energy he could muster into an immense arcane bolt that he held in his left hand. Daylen was beyond exhausted and he barely had the strength left to continue breathing, but it was time to finish things. He then made his way over to the battered and broken form of the Archdemon and looked into the beast's one remaining eye.

"You know what? I don't really like you." he declared triumphantly before firing the arcane bolt at pointblank range, completely blasting the Archdemon's head off. It was done, finally.

Afterwards, Daylen was immediately engulfed in an enormous pillar of light that was released from the Archdemon's body. The intensity of the light could be seen from all over Denerim as everyone who was engaged in battle took notice from all corners of the city and the outskirts. Friends and allies observed the sight and quickly came to understand what it meant. But for the wardens on the top of Fort Drakon, it was a scene of utter panic.

"DAYLEN!" they all screamed in horror as they struggled to their feet.

Elissa quickly made her way towards the light where she could barely make out the image of Daylen who slowly mouthed, "I love you." as he stared back at her. Moments later, the pillar of light exploded, knocking them all off their feet. The Blight was finally over, but at what cost?

Several hours later, the entrance of Fort Drakon had become quite crowded. In addition to Petra, Mithra, Kardol, and their respective entourages, the wardens' friends were also now awaiting their return.

"The bastards are on the run everywhere!" Oghren shouted cheerfully.

"Yes. It seems that Daylen, Neria and the others were successful." Wynne added quietly.

"Wynne, I'm worried. With the way Daylen was fighting and how ferocious that thing looked...what if-"

"We will simply have to await their return Petra. I am certain that Daylen will be fine and likely eager to regale us with tales of his amazing skill." Wynne cut in humorously, but she was unable to mask her own concerns.

"Shouldn't they have been here by now? Perhaps we should make our way to them..." Leliana said in a worried tone. Dog was clearly in favor of her suggestion and had been attempting to enter the fort for quite awhile now while the others held him back.

"We will, eventually...but right now, let's give them a chance to make it on their own." Wynne replied gently.

"I am fairly confident that they've all survived. Considering what I've seen them face in the past, this almost seems boring by comparison." Zevran added humorously.

"Theron WILL return." Mithra abruptly added, with absolute confidence.

Sten was silent as usual and so was Morrigan who simply stared at the fort with her arms crossed. Several moments later, Dog began barking and footsteps could be heard coming from within the fort.

As Theron held a sobbing Neria, he found himself cursing his own weakness. It should have been him, if he had finished the creature off before Daylen's recovery, the whole tragic scene that was now unfolding could have been avoided. As he surveyed the others, his guilt only grew. Darrian was cursing while punching the wall of the fort, his knuckles were becoming raw from the repeated abuse but he didn't seem to care. Natia was crying while Duran held her and Aedan had fallen to his knees in grief. Alistair had lowered his head in shock, the magnitude of the situation clearly hadn't sunk in yet. But the most painful member of their group to watch at the moment had to be Elissa. She had been scouring the debris of the roof for several minutes now while quietly muttering "Daylen" to herself. None them had the heart to stop her and at the moment they were dealing with their own grief.

"Damn you, Morrigan." Theron thought bitterly as Neria trembled in despair while he held her. Or had Daylen simply overexerted himself? Regardless the reason, they had all lost a friend and more. After awhile, Alistair finally raised his head.

"We should at least find his body. We owe him that much." he quietly announced. Neria's anguish only increased upon hearing his words, but Alistair was right. It didn't matter how long it took, they would have to recover Daylen's remains.

Unfortunately, very few of them were in any condition to perform the search. Their injuries could be overlooked, but their emotional states were another matter. Neither Neria nor Natia had stopped crying since they'd all recovered from the explosion and Aedan hadn't moved an inch.

"I'll do it, Alistair. You should take the others back to the entrance. It's probably best that they don't see him..." Duran replied hoarsely.

"I will help as well." Theron added quietly.

Alistair nodded before leading the way from the roof. "Wait a minute! We aren't going anywhere! We may have come up here separately, but we're leaving together, dammit!" Darrian shouted angrily.

No one had the heart to argue with him and so they all joined Elissa's desperate search for Daylen. The fact that he was dead clearly hadn't registered yet and Theron feared what her condition would deteriorate into once they discovered his body. After nearly an hour of searching, they were beginning to lose hope. It wasn't enough that killing the damned creature had cost Daylen his life, but apparently his body too.

"That's enough. There are mountains of debris and wreckage here. This could take hours, maybe even days and you all have injuries that need to be treated. I will continue the search, I am in a slightly better condition thanks to Daylen...anyway, the rest of you should go while I handle this." Theron announced sternly.

"NO! I have to find him!" Neria shouted defiantly.

"Neria, please." Theron pleaded quietly as he placed his hands on her face. She immediately began to cry as Theron embraced her once more.

"Theron is right, there isn't much daylight left and once night falls we definitely won't be able to..." Alistair couldn't finish.

Afterwards, they all reluctantly began to head towards the exit from the roof. Everyone except for Elissa, who was still quietly combing through rubble. The sight of her brought both Neria and Natia to tears, while Aedan struggled to avoid seeing the state his sister was in. "I'll get her." Theron said quietly before departing the group to make his way to Elissa.

"Elissa, you should leave now. We can continue our search for Daylen in the morning if I don't find him before nightfall." Theron said gently after approaching her.

She was either ignoring him or hadn't heard his voice, either way it was making Theron's task all the more painful. "Elissa, that's enough. Please stop." Theron added quietly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's not gone! I can't just leave him!" Elissa shouted angrily. The whole exchange was threatening to break the others as they observed the scene.

"Elissa, I'm begging you-" but before Theron could finish he suddenly heard a very faint, but distinct sound. His training as a Dalish hunter allowed him to identify the most muffled of noises and at that moment he was certain he'd heard a cough.

He quickly focused his senses and struggled to hear the sound once more, while quietly praying that he hadn't imagined it. As he shut his eyes and settled his mind, he heard it once more and quickly made his way towards the source. After reaching a large pile of rubble, he promptly began digging through the debris.

"Duran, help me!" he shouted excitedly as he got closer to the source of the coughs.

Duran instinctively made his way over and began lending his assistance while the others made their way over as well. "Theron, is it-"

"I believe so! We must hurry before he runs out of air!" Theron replied frantically.

After hearing his proclamation, the others immediately began aiding in the excavation. After several minutes of shifting wreckage and debris, they were all met with the most joyous scene they could've imagined. Laying in a pile of refuse, was none other than Daylen, weak and barely conscious, but alive.

"What took you so long?" he said weakly before coughing.

There were instant outbursts of jubilation as the others celebrated. "Why? Why did I honestly believe that you'd actually died?" Darrian asked happily while smiling.

"You bastard! Do you realize the scare you gave us all?" Duran shouted before laughing.

"You'll pay for this, mark my words!" Natia exclaimed while grinning.

"As soon as your strong enough to move, My fist will be having another meeting with your jaw." Aedan added as a wave of relief swept over him.

"Thank the maker! Daylen you really know how to build an atmosphere don't you?" Alistair added in an equally relieved tone.

"Daylen, don't ever do that to us again." Neria said quietly before gently hugging him.

"Daylen, it is once again good to have you back." Theron added happily.

As they all continued to rejoice, Elissa quietly made her forward. Without a word she leaned over and kissed Daylen before embracing him. "Let's go home." she said happily after caressing his cheek. Daylen gave a small grin as Aedan and Theron lifted him to his feet and lent him their shoulders to lean on. Afterwards, they all made their way back to the entrance of the fort where all of their friends and allies awaited. There was instant applause and revelry as they appeared. Leliana quickly jumped into Aedan's arms while Wynne lamented the condition they were all in as she observed the group. As the celebrations continued, a raven haired witch quietly slipped into the shadows and moments later a small, black cat had taken her place. The creature then strolled away into the distance, but not before taking one final glance back at Daylen.

As Valor observed the scene from within the fade with several other spirits, he appeared to be quite pleased. "I suppose the mortal didn't need our assistance after all." he commented cheerfully. "So tell me, does he meet your expectations?" he asked after facing a large, glowing, golden orb of light. The light simply released a brilliant flash of radiance before disappearing. "High praise indeed." he added pleasantly before disappearing himself.

Several weeks later, Daylen found himself relaxing in the royal palace with the others. After their battle with the Archdemon, he'd ended up sleeping for over a week and was eager to say his farewells to his fellow wardens before they temporarily went their separate ways. He'd already said his goodbyes to their other friends who were departing. After making absolutely sure that Daylen had fully recovered, Wynne had left to make preparations for a journey to Cumberland in Nevarra. Apparently, the College of Magi was about to have some big meeting and she planned to be there after the tower was back in shape. Sten had already said his goodbyes and begun the long journey back to Seheron. Leliana was busy preparing for her trip around Thedas with Aedan. Zevran was spending most of his time annoying Darrian, but had stated that he'd also be departing soon. Oghren had opted to remain on the surface and was spending most of his time with Felsi. Alistair was busy being a king and proving to be a surprisingly capable one according to Anora who had been surprised by his eagerness. True to her word, Morrigan had disappeared immediately after the battle.

"Well, have fun on your honeymoon." Daylen joked as he glanced at Aedan.

"Ha ha. We won't be gone too long. I want to get back and help Fergus with Highever a bit before I catch up with you and Theron. I can't leave all of the rebuilding to him and Elissa." Aedan replied casually. Not long after the battle, Aedan and Elissa had discovered to their immense joy and relief that their older brother, Fergus had survived his scouting mission into the Korcari Wilds, despite being injured.

"Well, you'd better not be. It's bad enough that Elissa is going to be away fixing Highever, if I find out she's going to have to be there longer than necessary because you've been slacking off with Leliana, I'm going to be pissed." Daylen added irritably.

"I told you, it won't be that long." Elissa added reassuringly before kissing Daylen.

"I'm sitting right...you know what, never mind." Aedan remarked in an exhausted tone while they all laughed.

"Neria, don't take too long at the tower either. I know you want help with the reconstruction and that Irving asked you to help teach a few lessons, but Theron will definitely get lonely and I'll be a poor substitute for you." Daylen added humorously.

"I won't be away for long. Try not to miss me too much. And don't let Daylen get you into too much trouble." Neria remarked with a note of concern in her voice as Theron held her.

"I will miss you, for as long as we're apart. I will also try to steer Daylen away from any...ominous scenarios that we encounter." Theron replied calmly.

"Before any of you go anywhere, you have a wedding to attend." Natia announced proudly.

"I wouldn't dream of missing this. It's not every day Orzammar elects two Paragons, let alone two Paragons who're getting married." Daylen commented happily.

"I still can't believe those assembly bastards voted you both in as Paragons." Darrian added.

"And all we had to do was help slay an Archdemon and save the world from a Blight." Duran remarked sarcastically.

"Darrian, you should bring Shianni. I'm sure she'd love to see Orzammar." Aedan said while grinning.

"I suppose I could if she isn't too busy helping with the repairs to the alienage." Darrian replied in a clueless manner. "Once I'm done helping everyone there, I'll be able to catch up with you and Theron." he added as he turned to Daylen.

"Well, I guess everyone's going to be occupied for a few months at least. I guess it really is up to us to rebuild the wardens. Damn! I just wanted to spend a few weeks relaxing in bed with Elissa." Daylen lamented.

"Isn't that exactly what you've been doing for the last few days." Natia replied mischievously.

"I'm not hearing this!" Aedan shouted irritably.

They all laughed once more at Aedan's expense before getting quiet. "Well, getting recruits shouldn't be too much trouble. This 'Heroes of Ferelden' thing has its perks. Plus, Daylen is the one who slew the Archdemon. You should see some of the people in his fan club." Darrian finally remarked.

"You should've seen the look on the revered mother's face when we told her that you were the one who killed it. You'd think someone pissed in her tea." Aedan joked.

"You mean the Chantry has a problem accepting the fact that a mage saved their asses? That doesn't sound like the warm and welcoming organization that I've come to know." Daylen added sarcastically.

They all found themselves laughing once more before settling down. "And you survived, the first Grey Warden to survive the killing blow." Aedan finally said quietly.

Daylen quickly exchanged glances with Elissa and Theron who were the only ones who knew about Morrigan's ritual. "Yeah, he survived. He's too stubborn to die and I'm glad." Elissa replied happily as she curled up closer to Daylen.

"I'm relieved as well. If you had perished, then the initial responsibility of rebuilding the Grey Wardens in Ferelden would have fallen to me alone." Theron added with a note of relief in his voice.

"I guess you really don't want that kind of burden, huh? Damn. Well, I guess I really will have to help out now. To be honest, I was planning to slip away with Elissa to Highever and leaving everything to you." Daylen admitted.

"Daylen!" Neria shouted incredulously.

"Don't Daylen me. The Blight's over and I'm tired of being responsible." Daylen joked.

"Theron, you have my condolences." Aedan remarked grimly as his friends chuckled.

Several hours later, Daylen and Theron found themselves walking down one of the many hallways of the palace. "I never got the chance to thank you for explaining things to Elissa. I owe you more than you can ever imagine, Theron." Daylen said gratefully as he faced the Dalish warrior.

"Daylen, you don't have to thank me and you certainly don't owe me anything. You saved us all from an unspeakable evil. You led us to the momentary peace that we have now and for that, we're all grateful." Theron replied.

"Yeah well, I still feel like I owe you. Tell you what, if you ever get into trouble with Neria, you can blame it on me." Daylen joked.

"I may hold you to that Daylen. Given your history of getting into trouble and the fact that we will be working on our own for several months without the others, I foresee a great many situations occurring that may upset Neria." Theron added seriously.

"You worry too much. How much trouble could we possibly get into in Amaranthine?" Daylen remarked while smiling.

Theron simply shook his head and braced himself for the inevitable storm. "Neria, forgive me in advance." Theron whispered to himself while Daylen laughed.


End file.
